RTVE to withdraw from 2026 Eurovision if Israel competes

Spain's state broadcaster RTVE said on Tuesday it will withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is permitted to compete, escalating a political dispute tied to the war in Gaza and adding pressure on the European Broadcasting Union as it prepares to decide participation rules. RTVE's 15 member board voted in favour of the measure by 10 votes to four, with one abstention, the broadcaster said.

The decision followed calls from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun for Israel to be barred from international events while its military campaign in Gaza continues. Speaking in parliament on Monday, Sánchez said Israel should be banned from sporting and cultural platforms, adding, "Israel cannot use any international platform to, in short, whitewash its presence while the barbarity continues," according to officials. Urtasun told Spanish television that cultural platforms should not normalise what he called genocide.

Spain joins the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Iceland in saying they will not participate in next year's contest in Vienna if Israel takes part. RTVE is the first of Eurovision's so called Big Five nations, which automatically...