Ireland to boycott 2027 Eurovision contest over Israel’s participation

Ireland will not participate in or broadcast next year's Eurovision Song Contest, public broadcaster RTE said Thursday, citing the "ongoing loss of lives in Gaza".

The country, which also snubbed the 2026 competition over Israel's participation, will join the Netherlands in skipping the world's biggest live televised music event, which has been hit by a string of boycotts and controversies in recent years.

"RTE will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will RTE broadcast the competition," said the broadcaster, which manages Ireland's selection and participation in the contest.

"RTE feels that Ireland's participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk," the statement said.

Earlier this month, Eurovision organisers said they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.

Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since 2023, came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion.

However, the Dutch broadcaster said the exclusion of countries in conflict was not "sufficient", adding that Eurovision could "no longer be considered neutral" given the divisions over the Gaza conflict.

Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame and boosting the likes of Céline Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.

This year's competition was watched by 131 million viewers, down by 35 million from the year before, after five countries boycotted it over Israel's participation.

The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all pulled out of the 2026 contest, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.

Next year's event will take place on May 15 in Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)