Ireland has announced that it will not go to Eurovision, nor will it broadcast the contest, despite the change in EBU rules this year, which prevents any country at war – in this case Israel – from organizing the festival in the event of victory.
This has been confirmed by the public broadcaster RTÉ, in protest at the inclusion of KAN in the contest, and in support of Palestine. “RTÉ considers that Ireland’s participation cannot be justified given the appalling and continuing loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis, which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk.”
At the same time, they remain concerned about the refusal of the Israeli authorities to allow independent access of international journalists to Gaza.
Ireland was one of the 5 countries that, like Spain, decided not to participate in 2026. The Netherlands is closer to no, and the rest – Spain, Slovenia, Iceland or some other country – need to speak out.
