RTE, the Irish national broadcaster, has released a statement regarding Ireland’s participation at the forthcoming Eurovision 2026 edition in Vienna, Austria.
RTE has announced today that Ireland will not take part at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if Israel’s participation goes ahead.
RTE’s official statement reads:
At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns about the participation of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest.
RTÉ wishes to thank the EBU for the extensive consultation process that was initiated on foot of that meeting, and the extension of the option to withdraw from participation without penalty to December.
RTE’s statement goes on to read:
It is RTÉ’s position that Ireland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest if the participation of Israel goes ahead, and the final decision regarding Ireland’s participation will be made once the EBU’s decision is made.
RTÉ feels that Ireland’s participation would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza. RTÉ is also deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.
Apart from Ireland several European broadcasters have raised concerns about the current global geopolitical scenario and Israel’s participation at the Eurovision Song Contest, including Slovenia, Iceland and Spain.
Hence the participation of Slovenia, Iceland and Ireland is currently uncertain due to the given circumstances and their respective national broadcasters will make a final decision on their potential participation once the EBU’s makes a decision after the ongoing consultation.
The EBU has given broadcasters an extension until mid December to make their final decision on competing at ESC 2026 or withdraw their application without suffering a financial penalty. The initial date was set on 13 October 2025.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held on 12, 14 and 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria.
Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest a record 7 times, a record it now shares with Sweden.
