Eurovision Organizers Postpone Their Vote on Ousting Israel After Ceasefire

Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have postponed a vote on whether Israel should be allowed to perform in next year’s competition.

According to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), “recent developments in the Middle East” prompted it to cancel the virtual meeting scheduled to vote on the matter, which would have taken place in November. Instead, Israel’s participation will be discussed at an in-person meeting in December, though the EBU did not clarify whether a vote would still take place.

Israel’s continued participation in Eurovision has been a subject of much scrutiny from other participating countries due to Israel’s continued war against Hamas in Gaza.

But the postponement of the EBU’s meeting and subsequent vote comes after a ceasefire came into effect on Friday. Since then, all 20 living Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas in exchange for the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

“In the light of recent developments in the Middle East, the EBU’s executive board (meeting on October 13) agreed there was a clear need to organize an open and in-person discussion among its members on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026,” reads a statement from the EBU.

“Consequently, the board agreed to put the issue on the agenda of its ordinary winter general assembly, which will be taking place in December, rather than organizing an extraordinary session in advance.”

Last month, the EBU announced it would invite 68 member countries to give their view on whether Israel should take part at a general assembly meeting in November.

Austria, which will host next year’s Eurovision contest in Vienna, said it welcomed the EBU’s decision; it previously urged countries not to boycott the contest next year should Israel continue to participate. Meanwhile, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands have all said they would consider boycotting next year’s contest if Israel takes part.

Israel came in second in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in May, with performer Yuval Raphael receiving the largest combined public vote. However, the inclusion of jury votes pushed Austria over the top, leading to its being declared the winner.