Recent events have underscored how political tensions have overshadowed what is typically a jubilant celebration of unity through music.

The withdrawals, including those of Ireland and Slovenia, followed a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). This organization, which comprises public broadcasters from 56 nations and oversees the event, convened to address concerns regarding Israel’s participation. Several countries have expressed objections due to Israel’s actions in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In a prior decision, EBU members voted to implement stricter voting regulations. This move was in response to accusations that Israel had skewed voting in favor of its contestants. However, no measures were taken to exclude any broadcasters from the competition.

The annual pop music extravaganza, which typically captivates over 100 million viewers worldwide, has been disrupted by the Gaza conflict for the last two years.

Meanwhile, Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported that it plans to hold a meeting next Wednesday to decide on Iceland’s participation. This follows a recommendation from its board last week suggesting that Israel should be excluded from the contest scheduled to take place in Vienna next May.

The broadcasting union, in a statement emailed to The Associated Press, said it was aware that broadcasters from four countries – RTVE in Spain, AVROTROS in the Netherlands, RTE in Ireland, and Slovenia’s RTVSLO – had publicly said they would not take part.

“We await formal confirmation of their decision,” the union said. A final list of participating countries will be announced by Christmas.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on X that he was “pleased” Israel will again take part, “and I hope that the competition will remain one that champions culture, music, friendship between nations, and cross-border cultural understanding.”

“Thank you to all our friends who stood up for Israel’s right to continue to contribute and compete at Eurovision,” he added.

Austria, which is set to host the competition after Viennese singer JJ won this year with “Wasted Love,” supports Israel’s participation. Germany, too, was said to back Israel.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said that the participation of Israel “is no longer compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster.”

Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE echoed similar concerns: “We would like to express our serious doubts about the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN in Eurovision 2026,” said Secretary General Alfonso Morales.

The EBU said the new rules would strengthen “transparency and trust” and allow all countries, including Israel, to participate.

“Eurovision is becoming a bit of a fractured event,” said Paul Jordan, an expert on the contest known as Dr Eurovision. “The slogan is ‘United by Music’ … unfortunately it’s disunited through politics.”

“It’s become quite a messy and toxic situation,” he said.

The contest, whose 70th edition is scheduled for Vienna in May, pits acts from dozens of nations against one another for the continent’s musical crown.

It strives to put pop before politics, but has repeatedly been embroiled in world events. Russia was expelled in 2022 after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Gaza has been its biggest challenge, with pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating against Israel outside the last two Eurovision contests in Basel, Switzerland, in May and Malmo, Sweden, in 2024.

Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain had previously threatened to sit out the contest, if Israel was let in.

Opponents of Israel’s participation cite the war in Gaza, which has left more than 70,000 people dead, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government and whose detailed records are viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

Israel’s government has repeatedly defended its campaign as a response to the attack by Hamas-led militants that started the war on October 7, 2023. The militants killed around 1200 people – mostly civilians – in the attack and took 251 hostage.

A number of experts, including those commissioned by a UN body, have said that Israel’s offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim that Israel – home to many Holocaust survivors and their relatives – has vigorously denied.

Earlier, it wasn’t clear whether a decrease in violence in Gaza, where a US-brokered ceasefire is holding, or planned EBU plans to change voting processes would placate some broadcasters who opposed Israel’s participation.

A boycott by some European broadcasters could have implications for viewership and money at a time when many broadcasters are under financial pressure from government funding cuts and the advent of social media.

The pullouts include some big names in the Eurovision world. Spain is one of the “Big Five” large-market countries that contribute the most to the contest. Ireland has won seven times, a record it shares with Sweden.

The controversy over Israel’s 2026 participation also threatens to overshadow the return next year of three countries – Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania – after periods of absence because of financial and artistic reasons.