An emergency vote on Israel’s participation within the Eurovision Music Contest has been referred to as off following developments within the Center East, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has stated.
Contest organisers had scheduled “an extraordinary meeting of [its] general assembly to be held online” in early November after a number of international locations stated they might now not participate in Eurovision if Israel participated.
The EBU stated in an announcement that following “recent developments in the Middle East” the chief board had agreed on Monday that there ought to be an in-person dialogue amongst members “on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026”.
It stated the matter had now been added to the agenda of its winter basic meeting, which is able to happen in December.
Additional particulars concerning the session can be shared with EBU members within the coming weeks, it added.
It’s not clear if a vote will nonetheless happen at a later date.
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Will Eurovision boycott Israel?
Confronted with controversy over the battle in Gaza, Eurovision – which labels itself a non-political occasion – had stated member international locations would vote on whether or not Israel ought to or should not participate.
Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Eire and Iceland had all issued statements saying if Israel was allowed to enter, they’d think about boycotting the competition.
As one of many “Big Five” backers of Eurovision, Spain’s choice to go away the competitors would have a big monetary impression on the occasion – which is the world’s largest stay singing competitors.
In September, a letter from EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci, stated “given that the union has never faced a divisive situation like this before” the board agreed it “merited a broader democratic basis for a decision”.
On Monday, Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the final residing Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel launched busloads of Palestinian detainees, below a ceasefire deal aimed toward bringing an finish to the two-year conflict within the Center East.
The conflict started when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing round 1,200 individuals and taking 251 hostage.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and floor assaults devastating a lot of the enclave and killing greater than 67,000, in response to the Hamas-run well being ministry.
Its figures don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants nevertheless it says round half of these killed have been ladies and youngsters.
