Spain will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel takes part, public broadcaster RTVE said Tuesday.
While other European nations have threatened to pull out, Spain is the first of the “big five” nations — the biggest funders of the event — to do so.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organiser of Eurovision, is set to decide at its December general assembly whether Israel will participate in the 2026 edition.
If KAN, the Israeli public broadcaster, remains on the list of participants, “RTVE would have to carry out the threat of withdrawing from the contest for the first time in history,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
The announcement follows Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun’s call for a boycott if Israel takes part, citing its devastating military offensive in Gaza.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had earlier said Israel should be excluded from Eurovision over the Gaza conflict, just as Russia was barred following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “What we cannot allow is double standards in culture,” he said.
On Monday, Sanchez also called for Israel to be banned from international sport after pro-Palestinian protesters in Madrid forced the Vuelta a Espana cycling race to be abandoned over the weekend, denouncing the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team.
Eurovision is the world’s largest live televised music event. This year’s edition in Basel drew 166 million viewers across 37 countries. Austrian singer JJ won, securing Vienna the right to host the 2026 contest.
Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have also threatened not to participate if Israel takes part.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain — the biggest contributors to the EBU — automatically qualify for the Eurovision final.
The EBU said in July it had begun consultations with all members on “how we manage participation, geopolitical tensions, and how other organisations have approached similar challenges.”
Pro-Palestinian activists have protested Israel’s participation at Eurovision in Malmo, Sweden (2024) and Basel, Switzerland (May 2025).
