It’s a tense time at the moment in the world of Eurovision, with many discussions going on around Israel and broadcaster KAN’s participation in the contest. Whilst several broadcasters have come forward and stated they will boycott the 70th edition of Eurovision in May 2026 if Israel are included, one broadcaster which hasn’t is The UK’s BBC.
The BBC have been staunchly impartial, as it is the very core if it’s existance., However, in a press release today, we were told that recent polling by Find Out Now has shown that the British public overwhemlingly do not want Israel to participate in Vienna.
The pollsters asked a sample of 1093 casual viewers and Eurovision fans questions about Israel’s participation, and compared to it to Russia’s expulsion in 2022. You can read the full details in the press release below.
Press Release: EUROVISION BOMBSHELL – Poll shows Brits overwhelmingly back pulling out if Israel competes in 2026
The BBC has been plunged into chaos after a bombshell poll has revealed that an overwhelming majority of the British public think the UK should pull out of the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to take part next year.
It comes as countries including Spain and Ireland have said they will not participate if Israel remains in the line-up.
Last night (25/09), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that each country will be invited to vote on whether Israel will participate in 2026 at an emergency meeting in early November.
Last week, BBC director general Tim Davie said the broadcaster is “aware of the concerns” but that the contest has “never been about politics”.
The survey asked people whether it was right to ban Russia from Eurovision after its full-scale, unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
A remarkable 94% of Brits agreed that Russia’s exclusion was the right decision, with that figure rising even further to 96% of Eurovision fans.
Nearly three-quarters went on to say that banning Russia but not Israel is inconsistent, with that increasing to 80% of Eurovision fans.
When asked specifically about Israel, a majority of Britons (82%) and Eurovision fans (87%) said they should not be allowed to compete in Vienna in 2026.
And crucially, if Israel is permitted to take part, 69% of all respondents believe the UK should withdraw from the contest.
Support for withdrawal cuts across voters of every political party except Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, with majorities across every region, age group and gender.
The shock poll follows a United Nations (UN) report concluding that Benjamin Netanyahu’s escalating military actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The findings will undoubtedly pile pressure onto the BBC who are already in crisis talks after Spain became the first of the “Big 5” to withdraw, joining Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland.
Belgium, Norway and Finland are considering their positions, while three of seven board members of Italy’s broadcaster RAI called for Italy to go on Wednesday (24/09) warning that the “participation of countries involved in serious human rights violations risks profoundly compromising [the contest’s] meaning and credibility.” The “Big 5” are the five countries who contribute most financially to the show and include the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany and Italy. All five qualify automatically to the Grand Final.
A petition urging the BBC to boycott the contest if Israel participates is rapidly gathering support.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has the final call on all decisions related to the Eurovision Song Contest including which countries can take part, what songs can be performed, and whether something is deemed too political.
So what is next for Israel?
Yesterday it was revealed that there will be a vote in November, for all EBU members to decide on Israel’s fate in Eurovision 2026 specifically. So far broadcasters in Slovenia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Iceland and Big 5 member Spain have stated their perogative to boycott the contest in May if Israel are included.
Whilst several other broadcasters have stated that they will remain apolitical, such as Sweden’s SVT, it will be extremely difficult for the EBU to pull off a full contest with 2 semi-finals if this amount of countries were to drop out.
It is important to remember that Eurovision is a competition between broadcasters, not countries. Therefore, if you need a reminder of all 68 broadcasters who will be voting in November, you can find the full list here.
