boycott is reshaping Eurovision’s broadcast map this year, with national broadcasters in Slovenia, Ireland and Spain choosing not to air the contest over Israel’s participation. In Slovenia, broadcaster RTV said it will replace the event with a film series about Palestine. The decisions come as the 70th Eurovision Song Contest prepares to take place in Vienna from 12 to 16 May.
Slovenia replaces Eurovision with Palestine films
RTV Slovenia confirmed on Thursday that it will not show the live competition and will instead air Voices of Palestine, a series made up of Palestinian documentaries and feature films. Ksenija Horvat, director of RTV Slovenia, said the broadcaster will not air the Eurovision song contest. The move follows Slovenia’s earlier decision not to submit a national entry.
The shift gives the boycott a visible public-facing form at a moment when the contest is set to mark its 70th anniversary. The event will feature 35 competing countries and remains scheduled for Vienna, the Austrian capital. The broadcast decision in Slovenia is now part of a wider retreat by public broadcasters that are distancing themselves from this year’s competition.
Broadcasters in Ireland and Spain also stay out
Spain’s RTVE reiterated last week that it will not broadcast Eurovision, making this the first time the contest will not be shown on Spanish television since the country began participating in 1961. Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ announced in December that it would neither broadcast nor participate in the event. The Netherlands and Iceland also walked out in December, though the contest will still be shown on their national broadcasters.
The boycott was prompted by the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to compete despite criticism of its conduct in the war in Gaza. The contest’s organisers have sought to keep politics off the stage, but Eurovision has repeatedly been pulled into wider international disputes. This year’s edition will also introduce new rules aimed at stopping governments and third parties from promoting songs to influence voters.
Reaction from officials and the wider contest fallout
Slovenia’s premier, Robert Golob, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s war, and his government announced in August 2025 a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In parallel, the contest has faced pressure from artists and campaigners outside the broadcast decisions, with more than 1, 000 musicians and entertainment professionals backing calls linked to the boycott. That pressure sits alongside a separate letter supporting Israel’s continued participation.
Boy George, who has said he will perform at Eurovision with Senhit for San Marino, has defended his stance and said music should unite people. At the same time, the number of broadcasters stepping away shows how the boycott has moved beyond protest into direct programming choices.
What happens next in Vienna
Eurovision is still set to go ahead in Vienna from 12 to 16 May, with 35 countries in the lineup and Israel included in the field. Organisers will now have to manage the optics of a contest that is celebrating a major milestone while facing an unusual level of public broadcaster resistance. For Slovenia, Ireland and Spain, the boycott is already settled on the airwaves, and its impact will be measured again when the contest begins in Vienna.
