Ireland will withdraw from next year's Eurovision Song Contest and will not broadcast the competition, the country's public broadcaster RTÉ announced Thursday, citing the continuing loss of life and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
RTÉ, which is responsible for Ireland's participation in Eurovision and its national selection process, said it could not justify taking part under the current circumstances. "RTE will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will RTE broadcast the competition," the broadcaster said.
"RTE feels that Ireland's participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk," the statement added.
Ireland's decision follows a similar announcement by Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros in late August. The Netherlands said it would pull out of the 2027 contest because of concerns that Eurovision was no longer politically neutral amid the war in Gaza.
Avrotros Director-General Taco Zimmerman said international conflicts are having an increasing impact on the competition and weakening its intended neutrality. He said Eurovision has "undermining its neutral character" and "become a platform for division."
Eurovision organizers introduced new rules last month barring countries involved in armed conflicts from hosting the competition. Avrotros said the measures did not adequately address its concerns.
Ireland had already boycotted the 2026 Eurovision, joining the Netherlands, Iceland, Spain and Slovenia in withdrawing over Israel's participation. Ireland, Spain and Slovenia also declined to broadcast that year's competition.
The contest draws tens of millions of viewers worldwide each year. Israel finished second in both the 2025 and 2026 competitions, narrowly missing victory on both occasions.
The 2027 Eurovision is scheduled to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria, after Bulgarian singer Dara won this year's competition in Vienna.
The European Broadcasting Union, which oversees Eurovision, rejected demands to remove Israel from the 2026 contest. Its members instead voted to allow Israel to remain in the competition.
Eurovision director Martin Green subsequently said the matter had been settled. In an interview with Variety in July, he ruled out another vote on Israel's participation.
"No, that’s done. The membership spoke conclusively. Almost 70% made their decision that they believe that public service broadcasters are not responsible for the actions of their government, and that [Israeli broadcaster] Kan should be allowed to participate," Green stated.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)