What to know about the Eurovision Song Contest as Israel's participation sparks walkouts

LONDON (AP) — The Eurovision Song Contest, which aims to be an upbeat celebration of music and unity, is facing the biggest crisis in its seven-decade history after four countries walked out of the competition over Israel’s participation and others weighed whether to join the boycott.

Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia announced they will not take part in the 2026 contest in Vienna in May after organizers declined to expel Israel over its conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza. Iceland is considering whether to follow suit.

The walkouts cast a cloud over the future of what's meant to be a feel-good cultural party, dealing a blow to fans, broadcasters and the contest's finances.

Eurovision expert Paul Jordan said Friday “it’s unlikely we’ll see a mass exodus” but that 2026 will be a "tense year.”

Founded in 1956, in part to help unite a shattered continent after World War II, Eurovision pits acts from dozens of countries against one another for the continent’s musical crown.

Overtly political symbols and lyrics are prohibited, but global tensions have often imposed themselves. Russia, for example, was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tensions rose again after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, and Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza that has left more than 70,000 people dead. The last two Eurovision contests have seen pro-Palestinian protests both outside the venues and inside, forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving.

A number of performers and countries have called for the exclusion of Israel, which has taken part in Eurovision since 1973, one of a few non-European countries to compete.

The Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union — a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision — tried to assuage concerns by tightening rules on contest voting and campaigning in response to allegations that Israel manipulated the public vote in favor of its competitor Yuval Raphael. She came second in this year’s contest behind Austrian singer JJ.

The EBU’s general assembly approved the new rules Thursday, but did not hold a vote on Israel’s participation. It said “a large majority of members” felt the contest "should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place.”

Eurovision Director Martin Green told Swedish television that the meeting reaffirmed “the belief that the Eurovision Song Contest shouldn’t be used as a political theater. It must retain some sense of neutrality.”

Immediately after the EBU decision, broadcasters RTVE in Spain, AVROTROS in the Netherlands, RTÉ in Ireland and Slovenia’s RTVSLO announced they were pulling out.

RTVE said the situation in Gaza, despite the recent ceasefire, and “Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event.” RTÉ said participation was “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza.”

Icelandic broadcaster RUV, which had recommended Israel be barred, said its chiefs will meet Wednesday to discuss whether to join the walkout.

Other countries’ broadcasters, including Norway’s NRK and Britain’s BBC, welcomed the decision to keep Israel in the competition.

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

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said his country opposes a cultural boycott of Israel.

“I am pleased that Eurovision did not give in to pressure, and that France helped prevent a boycott of Israel in this forum,” he wrote on X. “I deeply regret that several European television channels made a different choice.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on social platform X that he was “pleased” Israel will again take part and hoped “the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations and cross-border cultural understanding.”

Some Israelis said they were glad their country was participating but felt the debate around them was unfair.

“I’m happy but I’m not dancing in the streets,” Izhar Cohen, who won Eurovision in 1978, told The Associated Press in Tel Aviv. “Eurovision should be a meeting and gathering together with no politics of all the people from all nations,” he said.

Tel Aviv resident Bret Katz said “it’s a terrible, terrible thing to ostracize a country and not to understand who was attacked on October 7, 2023.”

The boycotting countries will not send a musical act to the 2026 contest and will not broadcast it. That will likely cut into viewership of a contest that typically draws more than 150 million viewers.

Fans in the boycotting countries should still be able to watch on digital platforms including YouTube, and another Dutch broadcaster, NPO, said it will air the show in the Netherlands.

The boycotts are a financial blow to Eurovision, which is funded largely by participating broadcasters — and to boycotting public broadcasters at a time when many are under financial pressure from government funding cuts and competition from social media.

The EBU does not disclose how much each country pays, but the pullouts include Spain, one of the “Big Five” large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest.

So far, more than two dozen countries have confirmed they will compete in Vienna, including heavyweights like seven-time champion Sweden. The EBU says a final list of participants will be released before Christmas.

The boycott is offset to an extent by the return of Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania to Eurovision after periods of absence because of financial and artistic reasons.

Jordan said viewing figures would be closely watched, “and if they are significantly down, then that’ll probably raise alarm bells.

“But I think overall the contest is a sturdy thing,” he said.

Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Paz Bar in Tel Aviv and Samuel Petrequin contributed to this story.

Izhar Cohen, an Israeli singer who won the 1978 Eurovision song contest poses for a photo in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

FILE - Singer Yuval Raphael, from Israel, holds the national flag during a dress rehearsal for the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, May 16, 2025, in Basel, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

FILE - Israeli fans cheer for Yuval Raphael, from Israel, after she performed during the semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

FILE - JJ, from Austria, stands on the stage with his trophy after winning the Grand Final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were killed after a Russian drone attacked a minibus in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said Saturday, in the latest barrage of civilian areas, a hallmark of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

Seven people were also wounded in the attack, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Hours later Russia attacked another minibus in Kherson, wounding the driver, he said.

Meanwhile, along the northern border with Belarus, Ukraine recorded “rather unusual” activity on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram on Saturday. Without elaborating, he said activity was seen on the Belarusian side of the border and that Ukraine would act if matters escalated.

“We are closely documenting and keeping the situation under control. If necessary, we will react,” he said.

Belarus, a close ally of the Kremlin, has allowed Russia to use its territory as a staging ground to send troops into Ukraine and to host some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear weapons.

On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, a Russian strike damaged port infrastructure in the city of Odesa. No casualties were reported.

Ukrainian civilians have endured relentless air assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. U.S.-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv over the past year have brought no respite, with Russia rejecting Ukraine’s offer of a ceasefire, and in recent weeks the Iran war has diverted international attention from Ukraine’s plight.

Meanwhile, on the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line, Russia claimed Saturday it had taken control of the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

It was not possible to independently verify the battlefield claims, and Ukraine did not immediately comment.

In Russia, local officials in the Krasnodar region said that a fire that broke out Friday following a Ukrainian strike on an oil terminal in the Black Sea city of Tuapse was put out on Saturday.

Ukrainian drones have hit the oil refinery and export terminal in Tuapse on four occasions in just over two weeks, sparking fires that prompted local evacuations and sent up massive plumes of smoke.

Ukraine has escalated its long-distance strikes against Russian oil facilities in an effort to slash Moscow’s oil exports, a key source of funding for its grinding invasion of Ukraine. But the economic impact is so far unclear, as the rise in oil prices from the Iran war, and a related easing of U.S. sanctions, have helped replenish the Kremlin’s coffers.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

FILE - In this image taken from video released by Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev's Telegram channel, smoke rises after a drone attack on the oil refinery and terminal in Tuapse, Russia, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev Telegram channel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out a fire a building following a Russian drone attack in Odesa region, Ukraine, Saturday, May 2, 2026. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)