Eurovision organisers postpone vote on Israel's inclusion in contest next year

Eurovision organisers postpone vote on Israel's inclusion in contest next year

The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have postponed a vote on whether Israel should be allowed to perform in next year's competition.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said "recent developments in the Middle East" had prompted it to cancel the virtual meeting to vote on the matter, which was scheduled to take place in November.

It said Israel's participation would instead be discussed at an in-person meeting in December, though it did not make clear whether a vote would still take place.

Israel's participation in Eurovision has faced opposition from some other participating countries due to the war in Gaza.

On Monday, all 20 living Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas in exchange for the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. It comes after a ceasefire came into force on Friday.

In a statement, the EBU said: "In the light of recent developments in the Middle East, the EBU's executive board (meeting on October 13) agreed there was a clear need to organise an open and in-person discussion among its members on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026."

"Consequently, the board agreed to put the issue on the agenda of its ordinary winter general assembly, which will be taking place in December, rather than organising an extraordinary session in advance," it added.

The EBU announced last month it would invite 68 member countries to give their view on whether Israel should take part at a general assembly meeting in November.

Austrian national broadcaster ORF, which will host the contest in 2026, said it welcomed the EBU's decision.

It had previously urged countries not to boycott the contest next year in Vienna, with its Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger saying Eurovision and the arts in general are "not the appropriate arenas for sanctions".

Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have all said they would consider boycotting next year's contest if Israel were to take part.

Dutch broadcaster AvroTros said last month it would not change its position if a ceasefire in Gaza was reached.

"If a ceasefire is reached in the near future or the conflict develops differently, that will not change our position for 2026. We will reassess participation in subsequent years, depending on the circumstances at that time," it said in a statement.

The BBC has asked Israel's national broadcaster, Kan, for comment.

In September it said it should be allowed to take part, saying it was "one of the contest's longstanding, popular and successful participants".

Israel came second in the the most recent Eurovision Song Contest in May, with its act Yuval Raphael receiving the largest combined public vote.

However, the inclusion of jury votes led to Austria being declared the overall winner.

Source: BBC
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