Eurovision is supposed to be a celebration of the unifying power of music. But for the past two years, it has attracted protests and fan boycotts over its inclusion of Israel amid the country's continued military action in Gaza.

Ahead of 2026's contest, while nobody has even sung a note yet, a number of countries have been getting vocal.

"If Israel is there, we won't be there," says Natalija Gorscak, the president of broadcaster RTV Slovenia.

As the world waits to see what happens with the negotiations over Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, within the cultural world, there's no let up in the increasing isolation of Israel.

Image: Israel's representative, Yuval Raphael, before Eurovision 2025 earlier this year. Pic: Reuters

Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Iceland have all issued