The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced Monday that it will no longer hold an extraordinary online vote in November regarding Israel’s participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, Reuters reported.
The decision follows “recent developments in the Middle East,” a reference to the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which included the release of the last living Israeli hostages.
The vote had been scheduled in response to mounting pressure from several countries threatening to boycott the contest - set to take place in Vienna - if Israel were allowed to participate. Austria, whose national broadcaster ORF will host the event, had appealed to nations not to pursue a boycott and welcomed the EBU’s decision to delay the vote.
Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker and State Secretary Alexander Pröll of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) had declared that Austria should not host the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is boycotted.
The issue will now be discussed in person at the EBU’s Winter General Assembly in December, according to Reuters. “The Board agreed to put the issue on the agenda of its ordinary Winter General Assembly,” the EBU said in a statement. “There should be an in-person discussion among Members on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.”
The EBU did not confirm whether a vote on Israeli broadcaster KAN’s participation will still take place. Further details are expected to be shared with member broadcasters in the coming weeks.
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.
On the other hand, Danish public broadcaster DR affirmed it will not support Israel’s removal from the competition “as long as they comply with the rules and regulations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also declared that Germany should withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is excluded from participation.
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.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)