The organisation behind the Eurovision Song Contest has confirmed it will hold a vote on whether or not Israel should be allowed to participate next year.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed it will invite 68 member countries to give their view at a general assembly meeting in early November.
A decision will be taken by a simple majority, meaning that if more than 50% of members vote to exclude Israel, the country would not take part in 2026.
Israel’s continued participation in Eurovision has been controversial due to the ongoing war in Gaza, and several countries had already called for their exclusion.
The EBU confirmed all 68 member countries would be invited to vote, including broadcasters who don’t take part in Eurovision such as Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon.
Israel came second in the the most recent Eurovision Song Contest in May, with its act Yuval Raphael receiving the largest combined public vote.
However, the inclusion of jury votes led to Austria being declared the overall winner, and the next contest is scheduled to take place in Vienna.
In recent weeks, countries including Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland and Spain have all said they would consider dropping out of Eurovision if Israel’s involvement continued.
The Irish broadcaster, RTÉ, said that Ireland’s participation in the event “would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza”.
The Dutch public broadcaster, Avrotros, said it too could no longer justify Israel’s inclusion “given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza”.
However, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan said it should be allowed to take part, adding it was “one of the contest’s longstanding, popular and successful participants”.
“The potential disqualification of Israel’s public broadcaster Kan would be especially troubling ahead of the 70th edition of the song contest, which was founded as a symbol of unity, solidarity and fellowship,” a spokesman for the network said.
Austria’s foreign minister also previously wrote to colleagues in six of the countries threatening a boycott, urging them to reconsider, saying that Eurovision and the arts in general are “not the appropriate arenas for sanctions”.
“Excluding Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest or boycotting the event would neither ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza nor contribute to finding a sustainable political solution,” Beate Meinl-Reisinger said.
In the UK, Eurovision is broadcast by the BBC. Last week, the corporation’s director-general Tim Davie said he was “aware of the concerns” around Israel taking part.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 65,419 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
