Danish public broadcaster DR on Tuesday declared its position ahead of a critical vote on Israel’s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
In a statement issued by Gustav Lützhøft, a senior editor at DR, the broadcaster affirmed it will not support Israel’s removal from the competition “as long as they comply with the rules and regulations.”
“DR supports ESC as a cultural European event that has brought nations together through music since 1956,” the statement read. “It follows that we will not vote for any EBU member to be expelled from the competition, as long as they comply with the rules and regulations.”
DR emphasized that its continued involvement in Eurovision is contingent on the contest maintaining “a strong international community, control over security and an apolitical framework.”
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is scheduled to hold a vote in November to decide whether Israel will be permitted to compete in Eurovision 2026, set to take place in Vienna. If a majority among active EBU members votes against Israel’s inclusion, the country will be barred from competing.
Spain recently announced it would boycott the world's largest live televised music event in May if Israel takes part. Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands have made similar threats.
Calls to exclude Israel from Eurovision intensified in recent months, following the war in Gaza triggered by Hamas's October 7 massacre against Israel.
In April, shortly before the 2025 contest in Basel, formal requests to ban Israel were submitted by several countries, including Iceland and Spain.
The calls grew after Israel’s entry, “New Day Will Rise” performed by Yuval Raphael, came in second behind the Austrian winner, though Israel only received 60 points from the juries. The remaining 297 points came from the public, which overwhelmingly favored Israel’s entry over any other country.
Those results led broadcasters from Spain, Iceland, Belgium, Finland, and Ireland, to either request audits of their national televoting results or question the current methodology.
The Austrian winner of this year’s contest, JJ, called for Israel to be suspended from Eurovision, though he later walked back those comments.