For the past two years, the impact of the war in Gaza led to passionate and vocal protests on the streets outside the arenas of the two host cities, Malmo in Sweden in 2024 and Basel earlier this year. While inside the competition arenas the EBU was sticking to its message that the show is apolitical, the voices of the protesters outside the competition hall were seeping inside the halls, and a showdown was inevitable. The reaction from broadcasters was swift, with the Netherlands broadcaster Avrotros first out to confirm that it had decided not to participate in Eurovision 2026, following a "careful and extensive deliberation process" after consulting with a range of "stakeholders from the Israeli ambassador, to Amnesty International and the EBU to other European public broadcasters" among others.
Author: RTÉ News
Published at: 2025-12-04 21:55:29
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