National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain and Slovenia won’t air the Eurovision song contest this yr, after they determined to boycott the occasion over Israel’s participation.
Having introduced it could not submit a nationwide entry, the Slovenian broadcaster RTV confirmed on Thursday it could implement a broadcasting blackout of the world’s largest dwell music occasion and instead present a collection of films about Palestine.
“We will not be broadcasting the Eurovision song contest,” RTV Slovenia’s director, Ksenija Horvat, informed the Associated Press. “We will be airing the film series Voices of Palestine, featuring Palestinian documentaries and feature films.”
Spain’s RTVE reiterated its determination not to air Eurovision final week, that means the musical extravaganza won’t be proven on Spanish tv for the primary time because the nation began taking part in 1961. Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ introduced final December it could neither broadcast nor take part within the occasion.
The Netherlands and Iceland additionally walked out of the occasion final December, however the contest will likely be proven on their respective nationwide broadcasters, NPO and RÚV.
This yr’s competitors, Eurovision’s seventieth anniversary, can have 35 competing international locations and is scheduled to happen in Vienna, the Austrian capital, from 12 to 16 May.
The walk-outs have been prompted by the choice of the organising physique, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to enable Israel to compete regardless of criticisms of its conduct within the warfare in Gaza.
Slovenia’s premier, Robert Golob, who was re-elected in a good election this March, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s warfare. In August 2025 his authorities introduced a ban on the import of merchandise from Israeli settlements within the occupied West Bank as half of its response to “the Israeli government’s policy that undermines prospects for lasting peace”.
Taking place beneath the slogan “United by Music”, the Eurovision contest strives to put pop music earlier than politics however has repeatedly struggled to preserve international turmoil off the stage. Russia has been barred from participating since 2022, after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The warfare in Gaza has despatched ripples of unrest via the song contest, with organisers reacting to protests exterior the venues by clamping down on political flag-waving.
This yr’s version will introduce new guidelines designed to cease governments and third events from selling songs to affect voters.
Some international locations had raised issues over undue promotion strategies after Israel topped the general public vote on the contest in May, ending second total after the jury votes have been considered.
