Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain will not participate in the The Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova return after an absence, some for financial reasons, some for copyright reasons. Last week, a now historic meeting took place public services (broadcaster), a member of the EBU, the official organizer of this competition, which will turn 70 years old in 2026 in Vienna. Ten years after the end of the hell of the Second World War, Eurovision was created as a form of reconciliation, in an attempt to unite through music all the nations that were killing each other on a multi-million scale. Belgium, Poland and Sweden, which were on the verge of joining the boycott, decided at the last minute to give Eurovision another chance.
The formal cause of the boycott is Israel's presence at the Eurovision Song Contest, so it is completely clear that political differences have deeply and perhaps irretrievably destroyed the idyllic TV show that holds hundreds of millions of viewers and fans on all continents in front of their small screens every year. Formally, the participants are from Europe, Asia and Australia, but the viewers are all over the world. Last year, the competition in Basel was won by JJ, a singer from Austria of Korean origin. In all likelihood, it will be sung in Vienna in 2026, although several other cities in Austria have offered to host.
MORE AND MORE POLITICS
What actually happened at the EBU meeting, we found out indirectly. But some things are definitely clear. Pandora's box was actually opened when competitors from Russia were kicked out of the Eurovision Song Contest as part of the sanctions applied to athletes in international competitions. In the meantime, an alternative music competition was created, which was held in Moscow as Intervision and gathered more or less countries. BRICS. The first edition seemed a bit confused, there was some loss in translation, but if it survives, this relic of the era Cold War will become, at least in terms of the number of viewers and broadcasting territory, a serious alternative. Let me remind you, even the US delegation arrived there, which withdrew at the last moment, causing a mini-diplomatic scandal.
The Eurovision Song Contest, however, has faced very serious security challenges in recent years. There are fewer and fewer singing fans, parties and promotions, and rehearsals and performances are accompanied by increasingly complex security procedures.
The first great political struggle with songs was caused by the war in Ukraine. Namely, it is 2016 Ukrainian singer Jamala sang about the expulsion of Tatars from Crimea in 1944 and won. Her performance was controversial, and the Russian contestant was not allowed to enter Ukraine the following year. Let me remind you that in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea, until then Ukrainian territory.
Back in 2009, Georgia was removed from the competition because the lyrics of the song were an allusion to the Russian president - We Don't Want to Put-In. And in 2022, the Kalusha band won, everything was in yellow and blue decoration, they won, the victory was a bit far-fetched, and instead of the Ukrainians in 2023, the hosts were the British.
photo: ap photoEUROVISION 2026 IN QUESTION: Yuval Rafael from Israel
CASE OF ISRAEL
It has been shown that the Eurovision Song Contest cannot be imagined without the influence of geopolitical currents, but not only in voting, but in the promotion or hybrid war of enemy countries. Today, these divisions can no longer be hidden or camouflaged, they are deeper and call into question the very essence of this competition, which is becoming a paradigm of the political relationship of power in Europe and the world.
This especially erupted during the conflict in Gaza, when after the brutal actions of the Israeli army against civilians, protests began around the world.
There was already a conflict when a Dutch competitor was disqualified two years ago because he allegedly insulted members of the Israeli delegation. The attitude towards Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest led to the last wave of boycotts, so this year a record few countries will participate - only 35. The causes and consequences will certainly be very serious.
The countries that boycotted the competition believe that the genocide in Gaza must be sanctioned, which is why they were absent. These are also countries that have announced or have already recognized the state of Palestine.
The specificity of the Eurosong is that its founders are actually broadcasters, public services, and not states. It has been leaked that one of the arguments for Israel's retention is to support its public service, which is trying to maintain its independence even though it is under serious pressure from the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. On the other hand, the Eurovision Song Contest and the participation of Israel is considered an undisguised victory of state propaganda.
RULE CHANGE AND RETURN OF TROPHIES
The absence of some important countries also calls into question the budget of the competition, which will be reduced by more than 340,000 pounds, which is paid every year by Spain as a member of the "big five". She, along with a couple of other founding countries, does not have to qualify, but goes directly to the semi-finals. Without these five countries, the burden of financing falls on the participants, so participation will be more expensive. Of course, all these sung vicissitudes are incredibly reminiscent of political upheavals, from Russia and Ukraine (read sung oil and gas) to Gaza and Israel.
Since this is a TV show program that sets world standards, the hosts will have to make an extra effort to find money from sponsors.
Another reason for the boycott, which was also hotly debated, is the propositions. This time it is not a matter of protection against "neighborly exchange of points" which is characteristic of Scandinavia or the Balkans. The issue is the suspicion of abuses in lobbying and voting, which brought Israel to second place in the finals last year. At last week's EBU meeting, 65% of members voted to change the voting rules, which include the return of the jury to the semi-final competitions, a reduction in the number of votes allowed from one phone and other ways to prevent unfair "voting" for certain songs.
All this will contribute to making the already complicated procedure of distributing audience votes and jury votes even more complicated. Soon, the presenters of the program will be even more confused in describing the rules, so even Dragana Kosjerina, who usually has to play the role of a teacher in the class, would not be able to find her way there.
The European family is large, disjointed, divided on economic and political issues, just like the large, real community in Brussels. The only difference is the absence of another factor that brings chaos, namely the Americans, or more specifically Donald Trump. The attitude towards Russia and Gaza, financing, freedom of expression and freedom of the media as fundamental proclaimed values are deeply re-examined.
It is interesting how different forms of boycott were presented by artists. In recent days, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest from Switzerland, a non-binary person under the stage name Nemo, demonstratively sent his trophy, the winning crystal microphone, to the EBU headquarters in Geneva. He spoke not only about the boycott because of the genocide in Gaza, but he mentioned the very essence of this competition, which was called into question. Namely, the Eurosong has been a space of political and personal freedom for decades, a place of acceptance of diversity in every sense, and in his opinion, the songs themselves, no matter how beautiful they are, mean nothing if the proclaimed principles of this manifestation are not respected in life. With this gesture, perhaps the essence of a great hypocrisy that follows the Eurovision Song Contest, which has turned into a training ground for a political and economic hybrid conflict, is expressed most precisely.
Counting votes and colorful costumes will, unfortunately, not be of much help.
