The crisis opened in Eurovision after the confirmation that Israel will participate in the 2026 edition has triggered one of the biggest schisms in the history of the contest. Spain announced Thursday that they will not be part of next year’s festival, a decision that completely alters the map of participants and evidence of the deep fracture within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the event.
The Spanish withdrawal also means that RTVE will not broadcast the final, an unprecedented event for one of the five major contributors to the festival. The uncertainty extends to other delegations, while the EBU tries to contain the impact with internal reforms and possible external incorporations.
Why Spain withdraws from the Eurovision Song Contest
The EBU General Assembly, held in Geneva, had to decide whether the measures proposed by the organization to guarantee the “neutrality” of the competition were sufficient to keep Israel on the list of participants. The vote was 738 in favor, 264 against and 120 abstentions, thus endorsing Israel’s continuity.
RTVE, along with seven other delegations, had requested that the vote be secret and that Israel’s presence at the festival be analyzed separately. Both requests were rejected. According to the Spanish corporation, this refusal “increases distrust” and confirms that there is “political pressure” in the decision-making process.
With the approval of the package of measures, Spain communicated its immediate withdrawal from the contest and renounced to broadcast the final. This is an exceptional decision within the framework of the Big Five (the five countries which finance Eurovision the most) and it marks a complete estrangement between RTVE and the EBU.
The organization, for its part, celebrated that the vote “reinforces confidence” in the process and defended that the festival should remain an event independent of geopolitical tensions.
Which other countries are joining the boycott?
Spain is not the only country to drop out of the 2026 edition. So far, these states have officially announced that they will not participate:
Countries that have already confirmed their withdrawal
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Spain
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Netherlands
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Ireland
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Slovenia (it had already advanced its decision before the Assembly).
Doubts are still present in other delegations that had conditioned their permanence to Israel’s expulsion. These include Portugal, Iceland and Norway, which will communicate their decision before December 15, the deadline set by the EBU.
Meanwhile, a block of countries (including Germany, Switzerland and Austria) had warned that they would leave the event if Israel was excluded. Finally, with the continuity confirmed, these states maintain their participation. The position of Austria, host country of Eurovision 2026, was decisive in avoiding an even more complex scenario.
The situation reflects an unprecedented internal division: one group is leaving the festival for ethical and political reasons, while another core group warns that its permanence depends on preserving the inclusive nature of the contest.
3. What are the new participants that compensate for the departures?
In view of the foreseeable reduction in the number of participating countries, the EBU has initiated contacts with a view to incorporating other countries and maintaining the financial and media balance of the festival.
Among the candidates are:
Countries that could return
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Bulgaria
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Moldova
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Romania
These nations have already participated in previous editions and have expressed their willingness to return in 2026 if the invitation is formalized.
New additions in the studio
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Kazakhstan, which competes in Junior Eurovision and has expressed interest in debuting in the adult version.
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Canada, whose possible entry, although surprising, is not ruled out by the EBU, which recalls the precedent of Australia.
The incorporation of new participants is key to offset the economic impact of the boycott, especially because the departure of countries such as Spain implies a significant loss of resources and audience. In 2025, the final was watched by 166 million viewers, a figure that could be reduced if more broadcasters give up broadcasting the festival.
Meanwhile, the Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, continues its process of selecting the representative for Vienna 2026 as normal, oblivious to the institutional storm that the competition is going through.
