Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said the country will withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel is not excluded.
"I don't think we can normalize Israel's participation in international events as if nothing is happening."
During an interview, Urtasun said that Israel's participation in the contest cannot be tolerated.
“Events like Eurovision or the Vuelta a España bring a special representation of the country,” he said, referring to the protests against the Israel-Premier Tech cycling team during this year’s competition. “In the case of Eurovision, it’s not an individual artist who participates, but someone who participates on behalf of the citizens of that country.”
Urtasun said that if Israel participates in 2026 and "we do not manage to exclude it, measures will have to be taken" and recalled that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had previously called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, not to allow Israel into the international competition.
Urtasun stressed that denouncing the "genocide" in Gaza is not anti-Semitic and described Israel as a "genocidal government."
He explained that the decision to withdraw from Eurovision will be in the hands of RTVE (Spanish Radio and Television Corporation), which has expressed concern about Israel's participation in Eurovision after last year.
Even the head of Slovenia's national broadcaster, RTVSLO, has announced that it will likely withdraw from the contest next year if Israel participates.
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