Now, Israel faces expulsion from Eurovision 2026 Song Contest
Amid growing global anger against Israel over its Genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the illegal occupying power now faces an imminent expulsion from Eurovision 2026 Song Contest
[Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor arena, is the venue of the Eurovision May 2026 Song Contest. (Image: Vienna Tourism / Christian Stemper)]
Amid growing global anger against Israel over its Genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, the illegal occupying power now faces an imminent expulsion from Eurovision 2026 Song Contest.
The Eurovision 2026 Song Contest is scheduled to be held on May 12, 14 and 16, 2026 in Austria capital Vienna.
The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are the official hosts of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in 2026.
“The Grand Finale of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held on Saturday 16 May at the Wiener Stadthalle, Austria’s largest indoor arena, with Semi-Finals earlier the same week on Tuesday 12 May and Thursday 14 May”, the organisers said.
Vote to ban Israel
A growing band of countries, including Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands, has threatened to boycott the Eurovision 2026 if Israel is allowed to take part, citing the Israeli war on Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis it has caused.
Following this national broadcasters have decided to hold a vote early November regarding Israel's participation in the event, as confirmed to POLITICO by a spokesperson for the song contest.
The Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union has sent letters to the director generals of all member broadcasters to inform them about the vote on the matter.
Israeli broadcaster KAN earlier this month asserted that the event must remain a non-political celebration of music and said that it is still preparing to select Israel’s representative for the contest in Vienna this May.
The critics however are citing the case when Russia was banned from participating in the 2022 event due to its war in Ukraine.
“The same principal must apply to Israel”, critics said.
Demand to ban Israel from 2026 Football World Cup
In a related development, there are intense demands to ban Israel from 2026 FIFA World Cup and other international sporting events.
Here again Spain is leading the charge and threatened to boycott the 2026 Football World Cup if Israel is allowed to participate. Spain is important as it is one of only eight countries ever to have won the FIFA World Cup.
2026 FIFA World Cup
The 2026 edition of the World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries. The United States will have 11 of the 16 hosts cities at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will also feature matches in Mexico and Canada.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final will be played on July 19, 2026. Japan is the first team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As of now ony 18 of the 48 teams have qualified for the 2026 FIFA Football World Cup. The remaining teams are scheduled to play their World Cup Qualifiers in the coming weeks.
Israel's national football team is set to start its World Cup qualifying campaign in two weeks with away games against Norway and Italy. These matches, however, will be cancelled if Israel is suspended.
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