At least 4 countries pull out of 2026 Eurovision contest over Israel's participation

Key Highlights

• Culture Austria wins 69th Eurovision Song Contest At the meeting, EBU members voted to adopt tougher contest voting rules in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of their contestants, but took no action to exclude any broadcaster from the competition.
• The feel-good pop music gala that draws more than 100 million viewers every year has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years, stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.
• "It's a historic moment for the European Broadcasting Union.
• This is certainly one of the most serious crises that the organization has ever faced," said Eurovision expert Dean Vuletic.
• "Next year, we're going to see the biggest political boycott of Eurovision ever." Vuletic, author of "Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest," predicted "tense" weeks and months ahead as other countries contemplate joining the walkout and protests set to overshadow the contest's 70th anniversary in Vienna next May.