The Board of Directors of Spain’s public broadcaster, RTVE, has voted to withdraw from Eurovision 2026 if Israel takes part in the contest next year. They join a number of broadcasters with the same position, but are the first members of the Big Five to make such a move.
An absolute majority on the President’s proposal
The Board meeting took place at 10am today, and RTVE president José Pablo López tabled a motion which would clarify RTVE’s position regarding Israel’s participation in the next Eurovision Song Contest. The motion was accepted by an absolute majority of the members.
The RTVE Board of Directors agreed during its meeting on Tuesday, September 16, that Spain will withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel participates.
RTVE’s Press Release, 16/09/2025
The measure was taken at the proposal of the president of RTVE, José Pablo López, by an absolute majority of the Corporation’s governing body, with 10 votes in favor, 4 against and one abstention.
While other broadcasters have similar positions (as you can see below), this is the first time a major, Big Five broadcaster clearly states they are ready to boycott the contest. As a member of the Big Five, Spain is one of the top financial contributor for the contest, with a participation fee of more than 330.000€ in 2024 for example (triple that of Ireland, more than fifteen times the fee Moldova had to pay despite withdrawing last year). Voting numbers from Spain also allow us to estimate that the EBU received about 170.000€ from phone, text and online votes from Spain during the 2025 contest.
It is also possible that a withdrawal would mean boycotting the broadcasting of the contest (although the press release does not clarify that point), which would mean the loss of a large market in terms of TV ratings for the EBU. This year, the Grand Final gathered almost 5.9 million viewers on RTVE, a market share of 50%.
Plans still in place for Benidorm Festival
Whatever happens, RTVE has confirmed that Benidorm Festival will take place and that preparations are still ongoing.
The decision taken today by the RTVE Board of Directors regarding Eurovision does not alter plans for the Benidorm Fest, a fully established festival with its own identity and celebrating its fifth edition next year.
RTVE’s Press Release, 16/09/2025
The Festival will take place on 10, 12 and 14 February in Benidorm, and should in principle act as the national selection for the Spanish act, if the country takes part. After four editions, the selection has been pushed later in the calendar and will have a famous new face at the helm: Sergio Jaén as its artistic director.
Jaén was the stage director behind Ireland’s “Doomsday Blue” performance in Malmö, and Austria’s “Wasted Love” in Basel. He will also be working with YLE from Finland for their own national selection, UMK, and has worked on an interval act for the Junior Song Contest in Madrid last year, becoming a rising artistic figure within the Eurovision world.
More broadcasters putting pressure on the EBU before December
RTVE may withdraw without penalty until December, as a result of the EBU extending the deadline to confirm participation without penalty to mid-December, after an EBU General Assembly where the topic of Israel’s participation may end up submitted to a vote of members. For now, consultations are being held between the EBU and its members, after the July General Assembly, where issues over Israel’s participation and the voting system arose.
Other broadcasters have used the extended deadline, with different levels of rhetoric regarding Israel’s participation.
Some have clearly stated that they would withdraw if Israel takes part, such as Slovenia’s RTV SLO, the Netherlands’ AVROTROS and Ireland’s RTÉ, which are now joined by RTVE from Spain.
Others have simply stated that they will wait until December to take a decision over participation, while continuing preparations for selecting their artists, like Iceland’s RÚV or Belgium’s RTBF.
If Israel takes part and all six do withdraw, the contest would take place with 31 or 32 participants (depending on Moldova’s return), which would be the lowest number since the introduction of a semi-final, in 2004, when 34 countries took part. It is also possible other broadcasters join the ranks of these six, putting even more pressure on the EBU.
How do you feel about RTVE’s statement? Should Spain withdraw if Israel takes part? If you’re from neither country, would you want your country to withdraw in such a situation? Let us know!
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