AVROTROS LINKS EUROVISION 2026 PARTICIPATION TO CORE VALUES
Human suffering, the suppression of press freedom and political interference are at odds with the values of public broadcasting.
In recent months, AVROTROS has engaged in regular consultations with the EBU and other European public broadcasters regarding the future and nature of the Eurovision Song Contest. These discussions have also given extensive consideration to whether Israel can be represented under the current circumstances.
The Eurovision Song Contest was founded in 1956 to bring people together after a period of deep division and war. Since its inception seventy years ago, music has been at the heart of the Contest as a unifying force, with peace, equality, and respect as its core values.
AVROTROS can no longer justify Israel’s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza. The broadcaster also expresses deep concern about the serious erosion of press freedom: the deliberate exclusion of independent international reporting and the many casualties among journalists. In addition, there is proven evidence of interference by the Israeli government during the most recent edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, in which the event was used as a political instrument. This runs counter to the apolitical nature of the Contest. These circumstances are incompatible with the values represented by AVROTROS as a public broadcaster.
The broadcaster has therefore decided that participation by AVROTROS in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will not be possible as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU. Should the EBU decide not to admit Israel, AVROTROS will gladly take part next year. Pending that decision, all preparations will for the time being continue as planned.
Posted by Ultimatedream
10 Comments
I’m originally from Ireland. I moved to the states when I was younger and I brought a love for Eurovision into my community.
Every year we get together and we watch the festival, the theatrics, the silliness of it all.
Last year I didn’t partake. It was the first year that my friends and I were not all together for it.
I couldn’t. I was upset about everything that was happening in Gaza. I had been upset about how Palestinian people had been treated by Israel for a long time and last year it just felt like a straw that broke the camel’s back.
I wanted my friends to boycott, but it had become a tradition. And even though I started the tradition, I understood why getting together with our community was important to my friends.
I personally miss a lot of get-togethers with my friends due to schedule conflicts. I work weekends. A lot of them work weekday jobs. I accept that. Sometimes friendship is convience, we all have lives.
Despite that, I was struggling with this idea that my friends couldn’t understand how horrific things were. Why this is the one time of year we all get together that I chose to step away from.
Ireland announced that they may not participate this year. And I got a message from a friend, saying that it makes sense that the country that I’m from wouldn’t want to participate in an event that I didn’t want to participate in last year. But I didn’t feel better. I felt isolated still, like being Irish was the reason we weren’t getting together. Not that supporting human rights was the reason I didn’t want to participate in a thing that I used to love. That children dying was the reason I didn’t want to participate in a thing that I used to be the cheerleader for.
For such selfish reasons, I want more countries to speak out. I’m so tired of my friends thinking that because I am Irish, that’s why I have sympathy for the Palestinian people. I just want them to see that people should have sympathy for what is happening in Gaza because it is tragic. Because children shouldn’t have to die because of colonialism in this day and age. That America is funding a genocide.
I don’t know, I am rambling. But I am so upset. And I really want the rest of the world to understand that this is not okay.
More countries need to do the same thing…
Also to clear up some of the misinformation going around, the person claiming that Italy and Germany would withdraw if Israel would be kicked out is Amir Alon, a former member of Israel’s Eurovision delegation. I can’t find any source that those countries actually came out and said this.
Boycott and ostracism works! Let’s keep it going.
Now more countries!!
They’re the EBU’s 6th biggest contributor, this is huge news. Really hope Ireland (and reportedly other countries including Spain as one of the big 5) has started a trend that forces their hand.
LOL imagine it just ends up being Germany, Italy, the UK, and Israel performing because everyone else decides to boycott? They use the competition to whitewash and propagandize so honestly that might end up being a better and probably more irritating outcome than just kicking them out 😂
The jellyfish that are the Swedish broadcaster is disappointingly silent and will not even comment until EBU has made a decision.
Just crazy that the EBU is prepared to lose multiple European countries in EUROvision to accomodate one non European country
Can’t wait what to hear what the German broadcaster has to say about this😍