Eurovision Organizers Push Back Vote on 2026 Israeli Participation in Wake of Gaza Peace Deal

On the same day that President Trump announced a historic deal to end the two-year war between Israel and militant group Hamas, the organizers of the annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) said they will postpone a vote on calls to ban Israel from next year’s event.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tuesday’s (Oct. 13) ESC members — comprised of European public broadcasters that air the competition — were slated to hold an emergency meeting in November to vote on a request by some members to ban Israel from competing next year. Broadcasters from Ireland and Spain have called for a boycott against Israel in protest of the Israeli army’s actions in Gaza during the devastating two-year war; broadcasters in other nations, including Germany and Austria, have opposed the ban.

The postponement of the vote came the wake of Tuesday’s announcement by Trump of a peace deal, which included an immediate ceasefire — which, at press time, appeared to be holding — as well as the return of the 20 living Israeli hostages and the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

In the wake of the news, Eurovision said on Tuesday that the board had decided to postpone the vote on the boycott and will discuss it in “an open and in-person discussion” during its regular winter general assembly in December. The planned November vote was to determine whether Israeli public broadcaster and EBU (European Broadcasting Union) member KAN would be allowed to participate in the 2026 Eurovision.

According to THR, an “absolute majority” of EBU members would be required to vote to implement the ban, with Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain already threatening to sit out next year’s competition unless Israel is banned; the U.K.’s national broadcaster, BBC, has not picked a side in the matter.

The 69-year-old global pop competition known for its over-the-top performances, outrageous costuming and fierce regional/political rivalries is often one of the most-watched non-sports TV events of the year around the world. Though acts perform under their national flag and voters decide whether the performers advance to the finale based on national loyalty, the global songwriting competition is billed as a “non-political” event. Rules require participating broadcasters to take all necessary steps to make sure their delegations and teams, “safeguard the interests and the integrity of the ESC and to make sure that the ESC shall in no case be politicized and/or instrumentalized and/or otherwise brought into disrepute in any way.”

Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973 and Israeli singers have won four times, beginning with Izhar Cohen and the Alphabeta in 1978 with “A-Ba-Ni-Bi,” then again in 1979 with Milk and Honey’s “Hallelujah,” 1998 with Dana International’s “Diva” and 2018 via Netta’s “Toy”; the country hosted Eurovision in 1979, 1999 and 2019.

This year’s Israeli entry, Yuval Raphael, was the 2025 runner-up with the uplifting “New Day Will Rise.” Her song was typical of the kind of soaring, platitude-packed ballads that are the competition’s bread-and-butter. But “New Day Will Rise” resonated on a much more emotional, second level as well, due to Raphael’s status as a survivor of the Oct. 7. 2023 Hamas assault on Israel, during which militants killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, setting off the two-year war.

The 2025 Eurovision winner, JJ, said in May that he would like to see Israel banned from the 2026 competition.

“It is very disappointing to see Israel still participating in the contest,” the singer said at the time. “I would like the next Eurovision to be held in Vienna and without Israel.” In response, Martin Green CBE, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, told Billboard in a statement, “We fully respect JJ’s right to express their personal opinion and understand the concerns and deeply held views around the current conflict in the Middle East.”

In 2024, more than 400 musicians, actors, agents and managers and studio executives signed an open letter to the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest rejecting attempts by some participating countries to bar Israel from participating in that year’s event. Among those who signed the letter were Helen Mirren, Liev Schreiber, KISS’ Gene Simmons, Scooter Braun, Boy George, Sharon Osbourne, Emmy Rossum, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Diane Warren and Selma Blair, among many others.

At the time, a group of 1,000 Swedish and Finnish artists demanded that Israel be excluded from the 2024 contest over a belief that Israel’s wartime actions “undermined” the spirit of Eurovision due to the country’s “brutal” response to the Hamas attack.

Next year’s Eurovision will be held in Vienna, Austria.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.