Spain reaffirms plan to skip Eurovision if Israel is allowed to compete

The head of Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has reaffirmed that his country will not join the 2026 Eurovision contest if Israel is allowed to compete - a protest by the Spanish delegation against Israel's genocide in Gaza.

Corporación de Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) president José Pablo López's statement follows weeks of lobbying by the Austrian delegation and others to keep Israel in the contest, which will take place in Vienna.

"We hold the same opinion [...] that Israel's presence was unsustainable — firstly, for the genocide. Eurovision is a contest, but human rights are not." López told a parliamentary hearing on Thursday.

López's remarks come a week before a crucial vote on whether Israel can participate in the competition. 

The RTVE head also accused Israel of using the contest "politically", and said it "tried to influence the result and has not been sanctioned for this action", referring to accusations that Israel's government had interfered in the public voting system during the last edition of the competition. The complaints led the competition's organisers to change the rules around voting to tackle potential manipulation.

"Any other country that had carried out this use of the contest, I assure you that it would have been sanctioned and temporarily suspended," he said.

López also hit back at Eurovision director Martin Green's statement that Eurovision delegations - comprised of the artists and national broadcasting companies - do not represent the governments of their countries.

"Is Mr Green suggesting the return of Russian or Belarusian broadcasters to the contest?" he asked, referring to the two countries' expulsion from the competition over Russia's war with Ukraine.

RTVE's board of directors first announced Spain's planned boycott of the 2026 competition in September, citing Israel's genocide in Gaza. Iceland, Slovenia, Ireland and the Netherlands are also planning to sit out of the competition if Israel joins.

The European Broadcasting Union will discuss the issue in a general assembly meeting set for 4 - 5 December.