All of the countries and celebs who are boycotting Eurovision 2026 – so far
Pro-Palestine protestors and Icelandic singer Páll Óskar demonstrate outside the office of Iceland’s state broadcaster RUV on the day it said it would boycott the 2026 Eurovision song contest, on December 10, 2025 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Micah Garen/Getty Images)
Pro-Palestine protestors and Icelandic singer Páll Óskar demonstrate outside the office of Iceland's state broadcaster RUV on the day it said it would boycott the 2026 Eurovision song contest, on December 10, 2025 in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Micah Garen/Getty Images)
Several countries have announced plans to boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest over the continued participation of Israel in the face of the ongoing, deadly conflict in Gaza.
A vote was held by European Broadcasting Union (EBU) members on Thursday 4 December regarding proposed new rules for the event, which effectively meant Israel would be allowed to compete in next year’s contest, which is set to take place in Vienna in May.
Since the war in Gaza started, a number of Eurovision entrants have voiced their concern over Israel’s inclusion. Meanwhile, there have also been allegations that Israel had unfairly campaigned to boost votes for its 2024 entry, singer Yuval Raphael, after she topped the public vote.
Dana International, the first publicly trans Eurovision winner, has slammed the “violent and insulting” decision by those boycotting 2026 contest, however, this has not stopped several countries announcing they will no longer take part, and one former winner has also handed back their trophy.
Here’s all of the backlash so far:
Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands were the first to pull out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland’s RTÉ said they would not take part due to the “loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis” which is ongoing.
In a statement, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said that “participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values that are essential to us”.
Slovenia said: “As a public service broadcaster, RTV Slovenia is committed to upholding ethical principles and expects that equal rules and standards apply to all EBU members and all participating countries.” This was echoed by Netherlands broadcast Avrotos, who cited “the public values that are fundamental to our organisation”.
Spain’s RTVE brought up the threat from September that they would pull out if Israel stayed in the competition.
Iceland becomes fifth country to pull out
On Wednesday (10 December), Iceland’s broadcaster, RÚV, announced it was joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in boycotting the 2026 event.
“Participation of Israeli national broadcaster, KAN, in the contest has created disunity among both members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the general public,” a statement read.
Eurovision winner Nemo hands back trophy over Israel’s inclusion
Last year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner Nemo is to give back the Grand Prix trophy to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in protest against Israel’s inclusion in the 2026 contest.
In a statement posted on their social media pages on Thursday (11 December), the historic musician – who became the first non-binary performer to win the contest in 2024 – said that they “no longer feel this trophy belongs on [their] shelf”.
“Last year I won Eurovision and with it I was awarded the trophy. And even though I’m immensely grateful for the community around this contest and everything this experience has taught me both as a person and artist, today no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf,” they wrote.
We will keep this article updated with the latest events.
