Eurovision content creators boycott contest amid decision to allow Israel to compete: ‘Goodbye for now’
Eurovision content creators are boycotting the 2026 song contest. (Getty)
Eurovision content creators are boycotting the 2026 song contest. (Getty)
A number of popular Eurovision content creators are ceasing production of their Eurovision content indefinitely, following the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) decision that the song contest should continue in 2026 with Israel participating.
On 4 December, EBU members voted to bring in new rules preventing governments and third parties from disproportionate campaigns to promote their country’s acts, but decided not to vote on Israel’s inclusion in the competition.
In a statement, the EBU said that “the Eurovision song contest 2026 should proceed as planned” with Israel competing, despite the country’s military action in Gaza. As a result, four countries – Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands – confirmed that they will not partake in the 2026 contest, which will take place in Vienna next May.
Following on from the countries’ decision to boycott Eurovision 2026, a stream of popular Eurovision content creators have announced that they will follow suit.
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Éirevision Podcast, Ireland’s number one Eurovision podcast for the past three years, confirmed that it would join the country in stepping away from Eurovision 2026.
“At this moment, we no longer recognise the Eurovision Song Contest we grew up with. A contest founded on unity, peace, and connection has never felt more divided. As a podcast built around Ireland’s Eurovision journey, this news places us in a heartbreaking position,” the podcast’s founders wrote.
“After careful consideration, we will be pausing production of the Eirevision Podcast in January 2026.
“It is deeply saddening that a country with such a rich Eurovision legacy: seven victories, seven hostings, an unprecedented three-in-a-row, and the global phenomenon that is Riverdance – will not be competing in 2026 due to decisions made by the EBU,” they added.
☘️ An update from Team Éirevision: pic.twitter.com/KbrltYSpNG
— Éirevision Podcast 🇮🇪 (@EirevisionPod) December 8, 2025
The podcasters stated that they would return to Eurovision content creation “when Ireland returns, whenever that may be”.
Miceal O’Kane, the Irish founder of popular YouTube channel Eurovision Hub – which has 38,000 subscribers – confirmed that the channel would be “pressing pause” on its coverage of the song contest.
In a statement, the content creator said that while Eurovision was previously a “safe space” for “joy, community and connection,” it “just isn’t the contest we fell in love with all those years ago”.
“After the outcome of the EBU General Assembly, we no longer feel aligned with the contest in its current state, nor do we recognise the direction it is heading,” O’Kane wrote.
— Eurovision Hub (@EurovisionHub) December 8, 2025
“To continue making content without acknowledging that shift would go against our values, our integrity, and what feels right to us.
“So for now, we’re pressing pause on our content and coverage. If things change in the future, we hope to be back. But right now, its [sic] just a massive thank you.”
Fellow Irish Eurovision content producer Adam Mc Callig, who shares Eurovision content with almost half a million followers on TikTok, wrote in a statement that he too would stop making Eurovision videos. “I am Irish first and a Eurovision fan second and to continue as if nothing was wrong would feel like a betrayal of my country,” he wrote.
Spanish pre-Eurovision party PreParty ES 2026, which was due to take place in Madrid next April, has also been cancelled after the country’s broadcaster pulled out of the contest.
“Today we share one of the most difficult decisions in our history. We are cancelling PrePartyES 2026,” the organisers wrote in a statement, adding that Eurovision’s principle values of “respect, diversity, coexistence and unity through culture” had “disappeared”.
Organisers added that the event “will be back” at some point in the future.
Other countries, including Poland and Iceland, are set to confirm whether or not they will take part in Eurovision 2026 in the coming days.
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