The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organization behind the Eurovision Song Contest, has recently announced the cancellation of an "extraordinary" meeting initially scheduled for November.
This meeting was intended to decide on Israel's continued participation in the contest. However, the EBU has now stated that instead of a vote on Israel's expulsion, an "open and in-person discussion" on Israel's membership will be held. The EBU has not clarified whether this discussion will also include a vote on Israel's continued participation in the contest.
According to Breitbart, the EBU's decision is a direct response to President Donald Trump's mediation efforts in the Middle East. These efforts led to the release of all remaining living hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the signing of a peace agreement on Monday.
As a result of these developments, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun withdrawing from Gaza, a region controlled by Hamas for nearly two decades. America's Middle East partners have also committed to establishing a legitimate government in Gaza and aiding in post-war reconstruction.
The EBU's executive board, in a meeting held on October 13, agreed on the necessity of an open and in-person discussion among its members regarding Israel's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The board decided to include this issue in the agenda of its ordinary winter general assembly, scheduled for December, instead of organizing an extraordinary session in advance.
The EBU's statement, as reproduced by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), did not mention holding a vote on Israel's expulsion.
The Eurovision Song Contest, set to celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2026, was conceived in the aftermath of World War II as a means to restore social ties within the continent. The contest has since expanded to include some Asian countries, including Israel, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The number of participating countries varies each year, with last year's edition featuring 37 countries, including the aforementioned nations and Australia, which was invited to compete in 2015 due to the large Eurovision fanbase in the country.
Israel has been competing in Eurovision since 1973 and has won the contest four times. Its 2025 competitor, Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, secured second place with her song, "New Day Will Rise." Austria's competitor, operatic singer JJ, won the contest with his song "Wasted Love."
However, Israel's participation in the contest has been a point of contention for radical leftists and Hamas sympathizers, who have been pressuring the EBU to expel Israel. They argue that Israel's participation is equivalent to supporting its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Raphael's impressive finish last year sparked an outburst of antisemitic rage and accusations of cheating, leading the Eurovision community on Reddit to shut down for 12 hours after the competition to silence "hate speech." Raphael herself faced threats throughout the competition, including pro-Hamas rioters making throat-slitting gestures at her during the "turquoise carpet" competitor event that typically opens Eurovision Grand Final Week.
Opponents of Israel's participation often compare the situation in Gaza to that in Ukraine, noting that the EBU expelled Russia and its ally Belarus from the contest in 2022 in response to Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, this comparison overlooks the fact that Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, not the other way around. Israel's military operations in Gaza are a self-defense response to a terrorist attack that killed 1,200 people, not an invasion or conquest.
The Israeli government has expressed no desire to take over and colonize Gaza, unlike Russia, which has "annexed" entire territories within Ukraine.
In response to its expulsion, Russia created a low-budget alternative to Eurovision, the "Intervision Song Contest," which was won by communist Vietnam in September.
Eurovision participants are represented by their public broadcasting networks, several of which have shown significant support for the pro-Hamas agitators. The broadcasters from Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Slovenia all threatened to withdraw from the contest if the EBU did not ban Israel from competing following the end of the 2025 contest.
JJ, the 2025 winner, expressed his disappointment with Israel's inclusion in an interview following his victory and expressed his desire for the next Eurovision, to be hosted by Austria, to take place without Israel.
However, Austria's government announced last week that if the EBU bans Israel, Austria will relinquish hosting duties and not participate in Eurovision.
The EBU initially responded to the pressure to oust Israel by announcing an extraordinary meeting in November featuring a vote, an attempt to allow all involved countries to air their grievances on an equal playing field. EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci stated in a letter announcing the meeting in December that this question merited a broader democratic basis for a decision, given that the Union has never faced a divisive situation like this before.
However, the war that prompted the scheduling of that meeting has ended, thanks to mediation by the White House. President Trump announced a 20-point plan in September to end the war, which required both Hamas to release all its hostages and Israel to release a large number of Palestinian convicted criminals.
The plan also allows for amnesty for some Hamas terrorists but strips Hamas of political control of Gaza, creating a bureaucratic executive board to oversee reconstruction and transition out of jihadist rule.
Both the remaining leadership of Hamas and the government of Israel accepted the plan. Middle East stakeholders such as neighboring Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Qatar have also committed to helping Gaza rebuild.
Egypt hosted a summit in the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday for participants to sign onto the agreement.
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