GENEVA (AP) — Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday announced a final list of 35 countries that will take part in the glitzy pop-music gala next year, after five countries said they would boycott due to discord over Israel’s participation.
Contest organizers announced the list for the 2026 finale, set to be held in Vienna in May, after five participants — Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain — earlier this month announced plans to sit it out.
A total of 37 countries took part this year, when Austria's JJ won. Three countries — Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania — will return, after skipping the event for artistic or financial reasons in recent years.
The walkout by some of the contest's most stalwart and high-profile participants — Ireland shared the record of wins with Sweden — put political discord on center stage and has overshadowed the joyful, feel-good nature of the event.
Last week, the 2024 winner — non-binary singer Nemo of Switzerland. who won with the pop-operatic ode “The Code.”— announced plans to return the winner’s trophy because Israel is being allowed to compete.
Organizers this month decided to allow Israel to compete, despite protests about its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and allegations that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of its contestants.
The European Broadcasting Union, a group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs the glitzy annual event, had sought to dispel concerns about vote-rigging — but the reforms announced weren't enough to satisfy the holdouts.
The musical extravaganza draws more than 100 million viewers every year — one of the world's most-watched programs — but 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.
Experts say the boycott ahead of the event's 70th anniversary amounts to one of the biggest crises the contest has faced, at a time when many public broadcasters face funding pressures and social media has lured away some eyeballs.
Israeli officials have hailed the decision by most EBU member broadcasters who supported its right to participate and warned of a threat to freedom of expression by embroiling musicians in a political issue.
FILE - Nemo of Switzerland, celebrates after winning the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, on May 12, 2024. (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)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins signed left-hander Taylor Rogers to a one-year, $2 million contract to bring the veteran reliever back to his original team as part of a bullpen revamp Friday, while also finalizing a two-year, $14 million deal with catcher Victor Caratini.
Rogers and Caratini were at Target Field for their physical exams to make their signings official, after recently agreeing to terms. Rogers had a 3.15 ERA in 319 appearances over his first six major league seasons with the Twins, accumulating 361 strikeouts in 314 2/3 innings. He became a closer in 2019 and made the All-Star team in 2021.
“The Taylor Rogers we knew in ’18 and ’19 is going to be different than this guy, but he’s still a really good reliever and I think he’s going to have a big impact in our bullpen not only pitching-wise but with the ability to lead our group,” said new manager Derek Shelton, who was the bench coach for the Twins during part of Rogers' first stint with the club.
Over the last four years, Rogers has pitched for five teams. He was traded to the San Diego Padres right before the 2022 season and then to the Milwaukee Brewers right before the deadline. Rogers signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2023 to join his twin brother, Tyler Rogers, and was dealt to the Cincinnati Reds in 2025. The Reds traded him to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline last summer.
The 35-year-old Rogers has a career 3.34 ERA in 566 relief appearances, with 626 strikeouts in 541 1/3 innings and 83 saves. Rogers, who was drafted by the Twins as a starter in the 11th round in 2012 out of Kentucky, was converted to relief just before his major league debut in 2016.
The Twins traded their top five relievers during the week leading up to the deadline last season: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe. Rogers will mix in with bullpen holdovers Cole Sands, Justin Topa and Kody Funderburk.
“It’s the most obvious area of need coming into the offseason, something we feel like ‘Rog’ is a step in that direction, but help in that regard is going to come in all shapes and sizes," general manager Jeremy Zoll said ahead of the team's annual fan festival.
The 32-year-old Caratini, who will also be in the mix at first base and designated hitter while backing up catcher Ryan Jeffers, hit .259 in 2025 in his second season with the Houston Astros and set career bests with 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 386 plate appearances.
The 32-year-old switch-hitter has a .244 batting average over nine major league seasons. The Twins will be his fifth different team. Among active catchers with a minimum of 3,500 innings behind the plate, Caratini's catcher ERA of 3.92 ranks eighth best in baseball.
To make room on the 40-man roster for Caratini and Rogers, the Twins designated right-handed reliever Pierson Ohl and catcher Jhonny Pereda for release or assignment.
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FILE - Houston Astros' Victor Caratini sprints to third during a baseball game against the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas., Sept. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
FILE - Chicago Cubs' Taylor Rogers throws during the eighth inning of Game 2 of a National League wild card baseball game against the San Diego Padres Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley,File)
