RTVSLO, the Slovenian national broadcaster has announced today that it will compete at Eurovision 2026 if Israel is excluded from the competition.
RTVSLO’s Programming Draft for 2026 does not include a Eurovision participation in 2026, neither the broadcast of the competition next. Slovenia will only compete at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest if the EBU excludes Israel from the contest.
Natalija Gorščak (President of the RTVSLO Board) says:
However, if next week, on Thursday, when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) General Assembly is scheduled to vote on whether Israel will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest or not, it turns out that Israel will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, then we will propose to the council a change to the program-production plan and we will of course participate in this festival.
Next week the EBU members will convene at the EBU’s General Assembly in Geneva and discuss the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2026, the implementation of the new set of rules and Israel’s participation at ESC 2026 in Vienna.
Several countries have threatened to withdraw from the contest next year if Israel is not excluded from the competition, due to the geopolitical scenario in the Middle East and the war in Gaza : Iceland, Spain, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The official list of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 competing countries will be released by the EBU before Christmas.
