Ireland Warns: Will Boycott Eurovision if Israel Participates

Ireland has announced it will not take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to participate.

According to Ireland’s state broadcaster, the decision came after hours of cabinet-level discussions. Officials said that competing alongside Israel, while thousands of lives are being lost in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis continues, would be morally unacceptable.

The decision will now be forwarded to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees Eurovision. The issue of Israel’s participation was already raised during the EBU’s General Assembly meeting in July.

Ireland has won Eurovision seven times – more than any other country – making it one of the most successful nations in the competition’s history.

Earlier, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had also argued that Israel should face the same treatment as Russia, which was banned from Eurovision in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine, to avoid what he called “cultural double standards”.

The Eurovision Song Contest is organised annually by the EBU in cooperation with more than 35 member broadcasters across Europe and beyond.