The Irish TV presenter is commentating the annual song contest once again
Graham Norton is back on his Eurovision duties(Image: Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
Graham Norton broke his silence on Israel’s inclusion in the Eurovision final 2026 just moments into the BBC’s coverage of the annual singing competition.
The Irish TV presenter is a Eurovision veteran at this stage of his career. Graham took over from the legendary Terry Wogan on commentary duties all the way back in 2009.
Since then, he has been heard providing witty one-liners about everything Eurovision. Graham doesn’t hold back when talking about the acts, presenters and just anything you can see about.
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This year saw Graham head to Vienna for the singing competition’s 70th anniversary. Austria is hosting the Eurovision as a result of singer JJ scoring his nation their third victory last year.
Much has been made about this year’s Eurovision, with Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain choosing not to compete in protest against Israel’s inclusion. The country is being represented by singer Noam Bettan, who is among the favourites to lift the glass microphone trophy.
Noam was selected to represent his nation as a result of being sent through the first semi-final on Tuesday night (May 12). The 28-year-old will perform his song Michelle at the Wiener Stadthalle.
Noam Bettan is representing Israel(Image: Getty Images)
The final kicked off with the traditional flag parade. This portion of the evening sees all the acts involved in the semi-final’s flags being waved on stage.
It was here where Graham took a moment to explain to viewers about why some familiar nations weren’t taking part, including Spain in spite of being guaranteed a place in a final due to their ‘Big Five’ status.
“There’s Noam Bettan representing Israel. That reminds me, there are some flags missing from this flag parade. Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain all officially withdrew from the content due to the continued participation of Israel.
“Interestingly, though, Iceland and the Netherlands are still going to show the contest. We welcome back Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania. They all rejoined the contest this year and all made it back into the Grand Final, exciting for them,” he said.
Confirming their withdrawal from the Eurovision, the Irish national broadcaster RTE said at the time that it felt Ireland’s participation was ‘unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there’.
Meanwhile, representing the UK at this year’s Eurovision is electronic artist Look Mum No Computer. The musician, whose real name is Sam Battle, is performing his song Eins, Zwei, Drei.