Spain’s public broadcaster plans to continue Eurovision boycott over Israel’s participation

Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE is planning to continue its boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 over Israel’s continued participation, Anadolu reports.

RTVE President Jose Pablo Lopez said Tuesday he would propose that the country remain out of the contest.

He made the remarks at the broadcaster’s parliamentary oversight committee.

Lopez said RTVE had spent the past year pushing, alongside other major European public broadcasters, for changes within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), including tougher governance rules, penalties for political instrumentalization and stricter rules on neutrality in sponsorship and the contest itself.

While acknowledging progress, he said RTVE had not achieved all of its objectives and that it was “deeply painful” that Israel’s public broadcaster would continue participating.

Lopez said there could not be a “complacent assessment” of the situation, arguing that despite technical advances, there remained “an evident unfinished task in the ethical field.”

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He said he would therefore ask RTVE’s board to maintain the suspension of Spain’s participation in the 2027 contest.

Lopez was referring to the new Eurovision rules announced in early August, under which countries affected by war or serious geopolitical instability will no longer be able to host the song contest if safety and security are at risk.

Eurovision said in a statement that its governing Reference Group approved the changes following its annual review and feedback from participating broadcasters after the 2026 contest in Vienna, ahead of next year’s edition in Bulgaria.

“The Rules of the Contest now say the winning broadcaster will automatically be ineligible to host the contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region,” it said.

Spain’s decision to continue boycotting the international song contest came as Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE and Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced they will boycott the 2027 contest, citing Israel’s participation.

In 2026, the Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia did not participate in the competition, while Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia also declined to broadcast the contest.

The 2027 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place on May 15 in Burgas, a Black Sea city in Bulgaria.

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