The China Mail - Eurovision reels from boycotts over Israel

Meeting at the European Broadcasting Union's Genevea headquarters, members of the EBU -- the world's biggest public service media alliance -- decided Thursday that no vote was needed on Israel's inclusion in next year's 70th edition, to be held in Vienna.

Public broadcasters in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia swiftly announced they were boycotting the world's biggest live televised music event.

Others may follow, with Iceland considering its position.

Widespread opposition to the two-year war in Gaza had led to mounting calls for Israel to be excluded.

There were suspicions, too, about manipulation of the televoting system to favour Israel.

At this year's event in Basel, Switzerland, Israel's entrant finished second after a huge public vote.

Spain's RTVE said Israel was using the contest for political objectives, making it hard to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.

"What happened at the EBU assembly confirms that Eurovision is not a song contest but a festival dominated by geopolitical interests and fractured by internal divisions," RTVE president Jose Pablo Lopez said on X.

- Participation drop -

Some 37 countries took part in the 2025 edition, won by Austrian operatic singer JJ with "Wasted Love".

Eurovision director Martin Green said he expected the number of participating countries would drop in Vienna.

"We estimate there'll be about 35 broadcasters participating," he told Eurovision News Exchange.

He said "about five" countries "very passionately" felt Israel should not be allowed to participate.

"I very much hope that those few broadcasters who feel they can't be there next year will return back to us in 2027," he said.

EBU members had a "full, frank, honest, and quite moving debate", and "what they really came together on is a belief that Eurovision Song Contest shouldn't be used as a political theatre", he said.

"It must retain some sense of neutrality."

Roland Weissmann, the director of Austrian host broadcaster ORF, told reporters that at least three new broadcasters were looking to take part in 2026.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he fully understood broadcaster RTE's boycott decision, calling it "an act of solidarity with those journalists who were killed" in the Gaza Strip.

"Without those journalists, the world would not have known to the degree that it knows the horrors of what transpired in Gaza," he said.

Belgian broadcaster RTBF decided it was staying in Eurovision, but its chief Jean-Paul Philippot said their participation was "accompanied by a clear stance to denounce obstacles to freedom of information".

Belgium's Media Minister Jacqueline Galant said: "Let's make sure we keep culture as a bridge between peoples, especially when politicians refuse to lead the way."

- 'Non-political celebration' -

Spain may have withdrawn but the competition's other big nations were keen to confirm their backing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office stressed the event was a "non-political celebration of music and culture".

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he was pleased Eurovision "did not yield to pressure".

In Tel Aviv, local resident Yovel Naim said she was not surprised by the furore, as it was "a show that is supposedly about music, but in the end is very political".

"Actually I was pleasantly surprised that they chose not to kick us out," the 27-year-old told AFP.

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W.Cheng--ThChM