Eurovision faces budget squeeze after walkouts over Israel

By Olivia Le Poidevin, Johnny Cotton and Cecile Mantovani

GENEVA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The Eurovision Song Contest was facing a potential budget squeeze after Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia said they would withdraw from next year's competition in protest at Israel's participation.

The planned boycott brought to a head a row that has overshadowed the past two contests, and followed threats by the four they would pull out if the organiser did not exclude Israel over the conduct of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The walkout by Spain, one of the "big five" backers of the contest, and two of Europe's wealthiest countries, raises the prospect of less sponsorship income and viewers for the extravaganza that draws millions of viewers worldwide.

AUSTRIA TO HOST EUROVISION IN MAY

Austria will host the next edition in May, and national broadcaster ORF said the loss of the four would be felt - but would not prevent a successful show.

"Overall, it would of course be a financial burden if several countries did not participate, but we had already taken this into account," ORF chief Roland Weissmann said.

Members of the contest organiser, the European Broadcasting Union, on Thursday resisted calls by critics for a vote on Israel's participation, instead passing new rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the competition.

"There are no winners here regardless of whether Israel's in or out, the whole thing feels a little bit toxic now," said Eurovision expert Paul Jordan, who noted the walkouts would hit the budget and viewership.

Israel's 1998 Eurovision winner, Dana International, saw the boycott as insulting. "You don't punish an entire country because you disagree politically with its government," she said.

Ireland's 1994 winner, Paul Harrington, said politics and world events were hard for the competition to avoid.

"It's difficult, although it would be lovely to say, let's have this little moment every year where we forget about everything," he told Reuters from Dublin.

BROADCASTERS CONTRIBUTE TO FINANCING

The contest is mostly financed by contributions from broadcasters, the hosts, and sponsorship and revenue from the event, according to the Eurovision website. It does not disclose details of how much each country pays.

Contributions from some 40 participating broadcasters are divvied up on the principle that the strongest shoulder the biggest burden. It also includes a contribution from the host broadcaster generally worth between 10 and 20 million euros.

The host city also contributes, buttressed by revenues from sponsorship, ticket sales, televoting and merchandise.

About 5.8 million viewers in Spain watched Eurovision 2025, Spanish broadcaster RTVE said. In the Netherlands, an average of 3.4 million people tuned in, Dutch broadcaster AvroTros said. Both declined to give details on their financial contributions.

Irish broadcaster RTE said it had paid an annual EBU fee to participate in the 2025 contest of 100,270 euros.

Contest director Martin Green says Eurovision is financially secure, and that any loss of audience could be compensated by the return of Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova next year.

Still, the combined population of the four protesting nations is more than 2-1/2 times that of the three returners. And their combined economic output is many times greater.

Israel's 2025 entrant, Yuval Raphael, was at the Nova music festival, a target of the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.

A total of 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the assault by Hamas, according to Israeli tallies. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the ensuing conflict, according to health authorities in the enclave.

(Additional reporting by Emily Rose in Jerusalem, Francois Murphy in Vienna, Charlotte Van Campenhout in Amsterdam, Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Alex Richardson)