How will Eurovision 2026 be, the festival that Spain will not see due to the boycott of Israel
RTVE, which has withdrawn from the competition, will not broadcast the event
BarcelonaThis Saturday marks the Eurovision final, which this year takes place in Vienna, Austria. In Spain, however, the festival will not be broadcast on La 1 as is tradition, since in December 2025 the public entity withdrew from the contest as a sign of protest against the organization's decision to keep Israel among the participants. Besides Spain, four other delegations – Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland – have also renounced sending a song to the festival, although some do maintain the broadcast of the competition. Spanish eurofans who wish to follow Eurovision will have to do so through the official YouTube channel, which will broadcast it in English.
The Eurovision festival is traditionally one of the television events that brings the most audience to La 1. Last year, for example, in Catalonia it was followed by 966,000 viewers and had a 49.8% share. In the Spanish state as a whole, it had 5,884,000 viewers, a figure representing 50.1%. To fill the void left by the festival – this is the first time in 65 years that Spain will not participate in the contest –, RTVE has invented a grand musical show that it has christened La casa de la música and which follows in the footsteps of the special that the channel made on New Year's Eve. Presented by Jesús Vázquez, it will feature performances by Raphael, Manuel Carrasco, Ana Belén, Mikel Erentxun, Mónica Naranjo, Chanel, Guitarricadelafuente, and Tony Grox & LUCYCALYS, winners of the last Benidorm Fest, the festival that until now served to choose the Eurovision representative.
RTVE has not lowered its tone in its criticism of Eurovision after its withdrawal, but rather the opposite. This Tuesday, the president of the entity, José Pablo López, responded on X to the festival director, Martin Green, who belittled a report by the New York Times that exposed Israel's maneuvers to use Eurovision as a soft power tool in its favor. "From the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), one cannot ignore the clamor of the international press. The analyses by the New York Times and the BBC on Israel's participation are not opinions of 'those who don't win', as Martin Green insinuates. They are serious warnings about a management that has lost its way. Reality shows that Eurovision urgently needs a new era worthy of the values it has always defended," said López in a social media post.
Despite everything, RTVE has not entirely closed the door to returning to Eurovision in the future. A few weeks ago, the director of TVE, Sergio Calderón, set the date of May 17, the day after the festival's celebration, as the moment to start evaluating "if the conditions are met to participate in the festival in the future". For his part, Green has also tried to bridge the gap, assuring that "RTVE continues to be a much-appreciated member of the Eurovision family". The executive revealed that he maintains open negotiations: "We remain in contact with them and will do everything possible to welcome them back next year". It should be remembered that Spain is part of the group known as big five, the five countries that contribute most financially to the celebration of the festival (the other members are Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany).
Changes in the voting system
Following the controversy that the popular vote has generated for years, the 70th edition of Eurovision incorporates changes to the televoting system, which in recent years has favored Israel. The EBU has decided to reduce the maximum number of votes allowed per mobile phone from 20 to 10, which will represent half of the final score in both the semifinals and the final. With this change, the organization aims to limit the possible "instrumentalization" of the festival and curb the controversies of recent editions.
Israel, which won the contest in 2018, finished second last year (although the respective professional juries gave it a modest score) and was fifth in 2024; furthermore, it was the most voted by the audience in both editions, even in Spain, which raised suspicions at RTVE of massive coordinated campaigns.
Beyond the controversy over Israel's presence, Eurovision continues its celebration, attempting to project an image of normality. In this regard, eurofans continue to place their bets on the possible winner of this edition. Among the most well-placed candidates are Finland and Greece. The third best-positioned country, according to betting agencies, would be Denmark. Despite the EBU's efforts, Israel's shadow is long and, in fact, it also appears among the five countries with the most chances to win the festival, a victory that would not serve to quell the controversy surrounding the contest.