Last year, Spanish broadcaster RTVE withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
Spain was one of 5 countries that decided to pull out of the contest, along with the Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Slovenia.
Spanish broadcaster RTVE held a board meeting on September 17, 2026, to evaluate its participation in Eurovision 2027.
At the end of the meeting, the Board of Directors decided to postpone the decision regarding Eurovision 2027 participation.
RTVE has received an extended deadline to confirm its Eurovision 2027 participation. The EBU has granted the extended deadline to several different broadcasters, among them MRTV (Hungary), VRT (Belgium), and NPO (The Netherlands).
Yesterday, RTVE’s chairman, José Pablo López, attended a meeting with the parliamentary committee overseeing RTVE.
José Pablo López announced that he will recommend that the Board of Directors stick to RTVE’s position from last year. This means he encourages Spain to withdraw from Eurovision 2027.
José Pablo López mentioned that the EBU has already implemented part of the changes that RTVE has pushed to make in the Eurovision rules:
We have negotiated to strengthen governance rules, to effectively penalize any attempt at political manipulation, and to guarantee the strict neutrality of sponsorships and the festival itself. These are issues that have been achieved thanks to the negotiations of the RTVE group
Therefore, he believes that a “complacent assessment” is not possible because, while acknowledging technical progress, he also points out “a clear ethical shortcoming.” Consequently, he has announced that he will propose to the Council that RTVE’s participation in the festival remain suspended.
However, he said that reality should not be glossed over with euphemismsÂ
because he is aware that not all the objectives have been achieved and that it is “deeply painful” that, despite everything, Israel’s public broadcaster will continue to participate in the organization.
Regardless of the Eurovision 2027 participation, RTVE will organize the “Benidorm Fest 2027”, which is expected to take place in January 2027.
The submission window closed on July 30th, 2026, with around 900 entries submitted to the festival.
Will Spain participate in Eurovision 2027, or will it keep boycotting the contest for a second year in a row?
The final decision will follow in the coming days, but it seems more likely the country won’t participate in Eurovision 2027.
Eurovision 2027 will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria on May 11th, 13th, 15th, 2027
