VIENNA: Austria’s public broadcaster, which hosts the next Eurovision contest, on Tuesday said it hoped for a compromise on Israel’s participation in the massive TV extravaganza ahead of a vote next month.
The Eurovision Song Contest’s organizers, the European Broadcasting Union, said last month that Israel’s participation would be dealt with at its regular gathering in December.
A growing number of countries have threatened to boycott the 2026 edition of the world’s biggest live music television event unless Israel was excluded over the war in Gaza.
ORF director general Roland Weissmann said he carried out “intense work” to convince his foreign counterparts to come to Vienna next May for the contest.
“Honestly, this is the time for diplomacy,” he told reporters.
Spain said it would boycott next year’s event if Israel took part. Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands have made similar threats.
Other countries such as Belgium, Sweden and Finland have also been considering a boycott.
Sepp Schellhorn, a senior Austrian foreign ministry official, has slammed the boycott calls as “dumb and pointless,” while Germany has also accused the countries behind the push of politicizing a cultural event.
Russia was excluded following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while Belarus had been excluded a year earlier after the contested re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko.
Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria have announced their intention to return in 2026. Canada has also expressed interest.
Some 166 million viewers in 37 countries watched the 2025 competition, held in Basel, Switzerland.
Austria’s JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, won the 2025 song contest with “Wasted Love,” blending techno beats with operatic vocals.
The victory earned Austria the right to host the 70th edition of Eurovision.
Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael finished in second place. She survived the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war, hiding beneath bodies as Hamas gunmen attacked a music festival, killing hundreds.
Eurovision host Austria hopes for compromise on Israel participation
https://arab.news/cq2xq
Eurovision host Austria hopes for compromise on Israel participation
- The Eurovision Song Contest’s organizers said last month that Israel’s participation would be dealt with at its regular gathering in December
- A growing number of countries have threatened to boycott the 2026 edition of the world’s biggest live music television event unless Israel was excluded over the war in Gaza
Canada PM Carney says can’t rule out military participation in Iran war
- Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law”
- However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
CANBERRA, Australia: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East.
Carney’s visit to Australia this week has been overshadowed by expanding war in the Middle East, sparked by a massive US-Israeli strike on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney was asked whether there was a situation in which Canada would get involved.
“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said, while stressing the question was a “hypothetical” one.
“We will stand by our allies,” said Carney, adding that “we will always defend Canadians.”
Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law.”
However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — a position that Canada takes “with regret” as it represented “another example of the failure of the international order.”
The Canadian leader reiterated on Thursday his call for a “de-escalation” of the conflict.
Carney’s trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States — a hedge against what he has described as a fading US-led global order.
The Australia leg of the tour is aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a like-minded “middle power” partner.
‘Middle power’ rallying cry
On Thursday morning he issued a rallying cry in Australia’s parliament to “middle powers,” urging them to work together in an increasingly hegemonic world order.
Nations like Australia and Canada faced a stark choice — work together to help write the “new rules” of the global order or have great powers do it for them, he said.
“In this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls and retreat behind them. We must work together,” he said.
“Great powers can compel, but compulsion comes with costs, both reputational and financial,” the former central banker added.
“Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions.”
The Canadian leader also said the two countries would together as “strategic collaborators” to pool their vast combined rare earth mineral resources.
And he detailed renewed cooperation in areas from defense to artificial intelligence.
“We know we must work with others who share our values to build solid capabilities,” he told parliament.
Otherwise, he warned, they risked being “caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.”
The Canadian leader has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and slapped swingeing tariffs on the country.
In a speech to political and financial elites at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned the US?led global system of governance was enduring “a rupture.”
