https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/ccd6c58f-51ba-48d8-b6d6-2a3fb8008d7f Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands have announced their decision to boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) gave Israel the green light to compete on Thursday. The countries were among several participating broadcasters who called for Israel’s exclusion over accusations of Israel employing unfair voting practices and due to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. While the EBU’s semi-annual General Assembly did not vote on Israel’s participation in Eurovision, they did vote to reduce government influence on voting results after the Israeli government was said to have unfairly promoted the song of the Israeli participant. “A large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision song contest 2026 should proceed as planned, with the additional safeguards in place,” the EBU said in a statement. Support stories that matter. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR0fZh5SBxxMNYdg0VzRFkg/join Catch previous episodes of MEE LIVE, our biweekly news programme exploring the stories shaping our world through breaking coverage, expert analysis, and hard-hitting interviews. Originally airing Tuesdays & Thursdays at 12pm ET | 5pm BST Got a story tip or question? Reach us at MEELive@middleeasteye.org Subscribe to our channel: http://ow.ly/AVlW30n1OWH Subscribe to MEE Telegram channel to stay up to date: https://t.me/MiddleEastEye_TG Middle East Eye Website: https://middleeasteye.net Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@middleeasteye Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/MiddleEastEye Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/MiddleEastEye Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye Tue, 21 Apr 2026 15:51:47 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://tankie.tube https://tankie.tube/lazy-static/avatars/3ba3ff73-a8b6-49c9-add8-9653ef090c7f.webp https://tankie.tube/videos/watch/ccd6c58f-51ba-48d8-b6d6-2a3fb8008d7f All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://tankie.tube/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.