Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 13, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Eurovision postpones the November vote on Israel's participation due to Middle East developments, planning an in-person discussion in December.
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Francois Murphy
GENEVA/VIENNA (Reuters) -Eurovision Song Contest organisers will no longer meet online in November to vote on Israel's participation in the competition, following Middle East "developments", the European Broadcasting Union said on Monday in an apparent reference to the Gaza ceasefire.
Austria had appealed to countries not to boycott next year's contest - due to be held in Vienna - over Israel's participation and concerns about the two-year-old Gaza conflict.
Eurovision, which stresses its political neutrality, has faced controversy this year linked to the war, and several countries had pledged to withdraw from the event if Israel took part.
Austrian national broadcaster, ORF, which will host the 2026 contest, told Reuters it welcomed the EBU's decision.
On Monday the Hamas Palestinian militant group freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, under a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing an end to the two-year-old war.
"The Board agreed to put the issue on the agenda of its ordinary Winter General Assembly, which will be taking place in December," instead of the extraordinary meeting which had been slated to take place online in November, an EBU statement said.
It said that following "recent developments in the Middle East" the Executive Board agreed on Monday that there should be an in-person discussion among Members "on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026."
The EBU did not clarify, when asked by Reuters, if a vote on Israeli broadcaster KAN's participation would still go ahead, and said further details about the session will be shared with EBU Members in the coming weeks.
KAN did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
In September a letter from the EBU's President said the executive board recognised that it could not reach a consensual position on KAN's participation in the competition.
"Given that the Union has never faced a divisive situation like this before, the Board agreed that this question merited a broader democratic basis for a decision," Delphine Ernotte Cunci said in the letter.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by William Maclean)
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition held among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union, where countries submit original songs to be performed live.
A ceasefire is a temporary suspension of fighting, typically agreed upon by conflicting parties to allow for negotiations or humanitarian aid.
The European Broadcasting Union is an alliance of public service media organizations, providing a platform for cooperation and collaboration among its members.
Participation in a contest refers to the act of entering or competing in an event, often involving submission of entries or performances.
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