(70th Eurovision trophy. Credit: Eurovision.)
A press release by EBU (European Broadcasting Union) at the end of August aimed to highlight the ‘success’ of the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.
The report revealed that the contest reached 132 million people, a 34 million decrease from the previous year; the EBU cite this decline to be driven by the absence of participation from Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands.
However, the press release failed to disclose that these six countries chose to not compete in response of Israel’s continued participation while committing genocide in Gaza.
Fans of Eurovision will know that despite recent events, this is not the first time the contest has been controversial.
The 2008 contest, held in Belgrade, was shrouded in controversy due to block voting, where Nordic and Eastern European countries voted for their neighbours in the final.
Longtime BBC commentator for over 30 years Terry Wogan was critical of the 2008 contest, saying it was “no longer a music contest” and cited the block voting as the reason the UK entry came in last place.
The EBU acknowledged the block voting and insisted “this did not help Russia” win the contest that year. It’s important to note that the 2008 final was based entirely on televotes, while a 50/50 split between jury and televotes was reintroduced in 2009.
It can be argued Wogan’s claim still holds up today, but that the nature of the voting issue has changed.
The 2026 edition left viewers asking to what extent organised political campaigns could influence the public vote, especially considering Eurovision presents itself as a nonpolitical contest.
Following Israel’s questionable second place finish in 2025, voting reforms were introduced by the EBU, creating tighter restrictions around campaigning.
It appears these reforms were in vain, as a series of promotional videos were released encouraging viewers to use all their televotes on them.
The EBU insisted the campaign was not part of a large scale funded third-party operation and that it did not impact the overall result of the contest.
However, one has to ask how they were able to finish third in the public vote despite international protests and numerous countries boycotting due to their presence?
As for the 2027 edition of the contest, the Netherlands announced in August that they will not participate, with their broadcaster AVROTROS stating the contest can “no longer be considered neutral”.
Although the only country to confirm this, it appears unlikely that Spain, Iceland, Ireland, or Slovenia will return while Israel remain.
Belgium’s participation is also in doubt, with the Belgian broadcaster calling on the EBU to “make a clear statement against war and violence and for respect for human rights.”
Despite fewer countries participating and Moroccanoil ending its six-year sponsorship of Eurovision, it appears the EBU are not struggling for money, with Canada’s 2027 debut giving potential for more revenue in the North American market.
