Following the General Assembly held today in Geneva, the EBU members were asked to vote (secretly) on whether they support the new suggested changes to the Eurovision Contest rules.
With broad agreement that a further vote wasn’t needed, the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is confirmed to go ahead, including the new safeguards. Following this, no separate vote on participating countries was needed.
The Spanish broadcaster RTVE expressed dissatisfaction with the results and, as a result, decided to withdraw from Eurovision 2026.
RTVE was one of the leading national broadcasters to oppose Israel’s participation in Eurovision. Their main consideration was the Israel-Gaza war.
The president of RTVE, José Pablo López, expressed the national broadcaster’s stance last week:
“RTVE’s position on the matter has not changed. We maintain the same position that was untenable a few months ago for two main reasons. First, because of the Israel-Gaza war, as president of the corporation, I still believe that the Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights are not. And I think we must bear this in mind. But I want to raise another issue: Israel’s systematic non-compliance with the contest’s own rules.”
And now, RTVE officially informs that Spain won’t take part in Eurovision 2026:
A formal request by RTVE and seven co-signing nations for a secret ballot at the Assembly, specifically concerning Israel’s participation, was denied by the EBU presidency. This refusal has exacerbated RTVE’s plans to withdraw from Eurovision 2026.
RTVE has tried to put political pressure on the EBU, which failed to eliminate Israel from the contest.
RTVE Secretary General Alfonso Morales commented
We would like to express our serious doubts about the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026. The situation in Gaza, despite the ceasefire and the approval of the peace process, and Israel’s use of the contest for political purposes, make it increasingly difficult to maintain Eurovision as a neutral cultural event
The president of RTVE, José Pablo López added:
We shouldn’t accept double standards. Neutrality and transparency are a shared objective to guarantee a truthful result that respects the audience and the citizens
As for the moment, “Benidorm Fest 2026” is planned to be organized as usual; however, the winner won’t represent Spain in Eurovision 2026.
The festival will take place on February 10th, 12th, 14th, 2026
Spain has participated in Eurovision 64 times.
The first participation was in the first edition in 1956.
Over the years, the country has won 2 Eurovision trophies in 1968 and 1969.
We hope to see Spain competing in Eurovision in the future
Eurovision 2026 will be held in Vienna, Austria, on May 12th, 14th, and 16th, 2026.
