Belgium must soon decide whether it will compete in next year's Eurovision Song Contest after Israel survived a critical vote by members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on Thursday evening, confirming its participation in 2026.
Israel's participation in the competition has fuelled much debate and controversy due to its ongoing war in Gaza, which has killed over 70,000 people, according to figures from Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry. The war was triggered by Hamas' attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage. A ceasefire came into effect in early October, but Israeli airstrikes have since continued.
The controversy surrounding Israel's participation in Eurovision reignited following the 2025 edition in May. There were speculations that the voting procedure was manipulated due to the disparity between the public and jury votes Israel received. The EBU has also been accused of "double standards" after Russia was banned following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The EBU had initially scheduled a meeting in November to address Israel's participation, but this was postponed after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas entered into force.
Instead, the EBU unveiled new voting rules last month aimed at making the process more transparent and limiting the influence of countries and third parties on the votes.
During the meeting in Geneva on Thursday, representatives of the EBU members were asked to vote on whether they were "sufficiently content" with the new measures and safeguards without voting on Israel's participation.
According to the EBU, a large majority of the members agreed that the Eurovision Song Contest should proceed as planned next year with the additional measures announced in November.
Netherlands, Spain and Ireland will not compete
Following the results of the EBU vote, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland announced they would not compete in the 2026 competition. In a statement, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS explained the decision was made as the "current circumstances" are not compatible with the public values it considers to be essential.
It is currently unclear whether Belgium will participate in the 2026 edition of Eurovision.
The broadcaster responsible for Belgium's participation in the contest alternates every year between the Dutch-speaking VRT and the French-speaking RTBF. This year, RTBF will determine Belgium's participation. A spokesperson for RTBF told Belga News Agency that the broadcaster would communicate its decision in the coming days.
In response to the decision on Israel's participation, the Flemish broadcaster VRT said it "regrets that the EBU is not doing more to restore the unifying character of the song contest." VRT nonetheless intends to continue broadcasting Eurovision to "respect member democracy."
"We will do so with additional context, unless circumstances force us to reconsider that position," a VRT spokesperson added.
'Incomprehensible decision'
Flemish Groen MP Bram Jaques called on VRT not to broadcast the event and said that Belgium should boycott next year's song contest.
"Israel's participation is not in line with the values that we as a country hold dear. The Netherlands is pulling out, Ireland is pulling out, Spain is pulling out, so it is only logical that we do the same," said Jaques.
For his party, allowing Israel to participate in Eurovision is an "incomprehensible decision."
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual singing competition organised by the EBU, a host broadcaster, and around 40 participating broadcasters. The first edition of the song contest was held in 1956.
