LONDON: The BBC has backed the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, despite mounting opposition and an expanding boycott by European countries and public broadcasters.

National broadcasters in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have formally withdrawn from next year’s event, citing what they described as Israel’s violations of international law during its ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people, left much of the territory in ruins and prompted accusations of war crimes.

The BBC, however, said it backed the decision to allow Israel to take part in the contest.

“We support the collective decision made by members of the EBU,” a BBC spokesperson said. “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”

Israel’s participation in the 2026 event, set to take place in the Austrian capital Vienna in May, was confirmed during the EBU’s general assembly in Geneva on Thursday. 

However, pressure continued to build in opposition to the decision, with broadcasters from four countries pulling out and critics accusing organizers of double standards, given that Russia was banned from Eurovision in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine.

Following the EBU decision, Irish public broadcaster RTE said it would neither participate in nor screen the contest. It said Ireland’s participation “remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.” It also condemned the killing of journalists in Gaza and the denial of access to the international media. More than 200 Palestinian journalists have reportedly been killed since the start of the war.

Slovenian broadcaster RTV said it was withdrawing from the competition “on behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza.” Chairperson Natalija Gorscak said the decision reflected growing public demand to uphold European values of peace and press freedoms, noting that the international media are still banned from Gaza.

She added that Israel’s 2025 Eurovision performance had been overtly political, and contrasted the decision about Israel with the ban on Russia’s participation following the invasion of Ukraine.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS also withdrew from the contest, describing the decision of the EBU as “incompatible with the public values that are essential to us.”

CEO Taco Zimmerman said: “Culture unites, but not at all costs. What happened last year touches our boundaries … Universal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated.”

The EBU did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation in the contest. Instead, member broadcasters voted in favor of new rules for contest voting to prevent governments or other groups from unfairly promoting songs to manipulate the result.

Austria, which is set to host the competition after Viennese singer JJ won this year with “Wasted Love,” supports Israel’s participation. Germany, too, was said to back Israel.