The Eurovision Song Contest is wrestling with one of the biggest crises in its history as at least four European countries are to boycott the 2026 competition over Israel's participation.
The aim of the boycott is to signal disapproval of Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people. But there are also suspicions of voter fraud in the past two years. Political controversies are likely to continue plaguing Eurovision as both states and organisers lean into value signalling, the historian Dean Vuletic told The National.
“What if Israel wins next year? I doubt the Slovenians are going to fly to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem for 2027,” Mr Vuletic, who has written a book on Eurovision, said.
Boycotts have been rare in Eurovision's history. But using it as a platform for political messaging has been common since it was founded in 1956, when Germany's first participant was a Holocaust survivor. In 1969, Austria boycotted Eurovision host Spain in protest against the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.
This time around, Austria, which will host Eurovision 2026, has argued against a boycott. Speaking during a visit to Jerusalem last month, the director of Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, Ronald Weissmann, said “Israel is an integral part of the contest.”
Despite being the target of criticism since the 1960s over voting rules and quality of music, Eurovision has persisted and become the world's largest live music competition.
Protesters outside the headquarters of the Irish public broadcaster RTE in Dublin. Reuters
Many now view it as an embodiment of European common values.
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