Ireland boycotts Eurovision for second year over Israel’s inclusion

Public broadcaster RTE says the country’s participation cannot be justified amid ‘appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza’.Published On 17 Sep 202617 Sep 2026Ireland has become the second country, after the Netherlands, to announce a boycott of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation.Irish public broadcaster RTE said in a statement on Thursday that the country’s participation could not be justified “given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza” and that the humanitarian crisis in the enclave “continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Justice prevailed’: Is the Netherlands shifting its stance on Israel?list 2 of 3Eurovision to bar countries at war from hosting: What that meanslist 3 of 3Dutch public broadcaster to boycott ‘no longer’ neutral Eurovisionend of listRTE, which manages Ireland’s selection and participation in Eurovision, added that it remained “deeply concerned by the continued denial of independent access [for] international journalists to the territory”.The decision marks the second consecutive year that Ireland will neither participate in nor broadcast the competition, w...