Irish Eurovision fans were greeted with some welcome news today, albeit news expected for a while.
Due to Israel’s continued participation in the Eurovision Song Contest despite their ongoing genocide in Gaza, RTÉ have today announced their intentions not to participate in the broadcast of the competition.
The decision, now confirmed, came at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) conference in Geneva, where the EBU declined to even vote on banning Israel.
Ireland will not now broadcast nor participate in the competition, joining Spain (and their national broadcaster RTVE), The Netherlands (Avrotros) and Slovenia (RTVSLO) with more expected to follow closer to the event.
The move was spearheaded by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who called for Israel to be banned back in May, citing how Russia was immediately excluded from the contest upon the invasion of Ukraine.
All the broadcasters cited human rights concerns and Israel’s genocidal occupation as their reasons for the boycott.
In a statement, RTÉ said they felt “Ireland’s participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.”
The boycotting countries join a list of over seventy former Eurovision winners in calling for Israel to be banned, including this year’s winner, Austrian singer JJ.
While the move has been met with widespread acclaim in the boycotting countries, not everyone has been pleased. Israel’s president Issac Herzog took to social media to make his point that “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed.”
Israel reiterates its desire to continue competing in Eurovision despite the pressure put on after a United Nations inquiry confirmed them carrying out genocide in Gaza.
Sonny McGreevy is SIN’s co-Sports Editor for 2025/2026. He is a third-year student of Creative Writing and a keen but mediocre golfer. It is his second-year writing for SIN. When he’s not slicing a golf ball into the nearest pond or peering over a fence at a local GAA pitch, he’s debating Irish foreign policy or ardently discussing the price of turf with a pint in hand in a sleepy pub in his native Roscommon.