Austria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sepp Schellhorn asked his country’s public broadcaster, as well as the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), on Friday not to give in to pressure to drop out of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, which will be held in Vienna in May, if Israel is allowed to participate.
“Cultural boycotts are foolish and futile; they do not help us move forward,” he told the newspaper Kurier. While he acknowledged that each country could decide for itself whether to take part in Eurovision, he warned against giving in to what he termed “blackmail”: “These countries are democracies. If one of our neighbors decides not to participate, Austria must take note. However, yielding to pressure or blackmail would be a mistake.”
Schellhorn noted that he may send a letter to officials in other countries, asking them not to take part in the boycott of the contest — which several countries, including the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain have already announced that they will do. Spain is especially significant because it is one of the “Big Five” countries that are the principal sponsors of the contest. The others are England, France, Italy, and Germany.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview last week on Israel’s Channel 12 with Yonit Levi that he is against France boycotting Eurovision over Israeli participation, although it is France’s broadcast authority that makes the call, and not the president. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas also expressed disapproval at the idea of a boycott.
The final decision over the participation of Israel will be made at the EBU’s General Assembly in Geneva on December 4–5. Public broadcasters can confirm their participation up until mid-December.
Many in Europe have called to have Israel kicked out of Eurovision
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war that broke out, many in Europe have called to have Israel kicked out of Eurovision, but Israel has continued to participate. Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, finished in fifth place with the second-highest score in the audience voting in 2024, and Yuval Raphael came in second in 2025, winning the audience voting.
Several countries whose contestants trailed Raphael accused Israel of cheating in various ways in 2025, claims that the EBU dismissed. Israel’s high scores with audiences indicate that while public officials in some European countries don’t want Israel to take part, Eurovision viewers do.