Member broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest are holding a two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to debate whether Israel should be permitted to take part in the event.
Multiple countries have threatened to withdraw from the 2026 contest, which will be held in Austria from May 12-16, if Israel takes part, citing human suffering in Gaza during Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the enclave. Israel also faces allegations of unfairly boosting its entrant at the most recent contest in Switzerland.
The meeting could see a vote regarding Israel’s participation.
Broadcasters will be asked to consider whether new measures introduced to discourage governments and third parties from disproportionately promoting songs to sway voters are sufficient.
The rules were introduced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision, after allegations that Israel artificially boosted the vote its entrant, Yuval Raphael, received in the 2025 contest through a broad advertising campaign.
If members are not convinced that the new rules are adequate to protect the competition’s impartiality, there will be a vote on participation, the EBU said.
Germany, for its part, could pull out and not broadcast the contest if Israel is not allowed to participate, a broadcasting industry source told Reuters news agency.
Critics of Israel’s participation cite the Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which has surpassed 70,000, according to Gaza health authorities.
Israel has also faced accusations of using hunger and deprivation as weapons during the conflict by largely barring the entry of aid to the Palestinian enclave. International bodies like the United Nations have categorized Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide.
Israel launched its offensive in response to the October 7, 2023, attack led by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza.