Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker has expressed that excluding Israel from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest scheduled to take place in Vienna would be “a fatal mistake.”
“I would consider it a fatal mistake to exclude Israel,” the chancellor stated in an interview with the German news agency dpa on Sunday.
“Based solely on our history, I would never advocate for that,” he added, referring to the shared responsibility of Germany and Austria for crimes committed during the Holocaust.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also voiced support for Israel’s participation, stating that Israel “has a place” in Eurovision. “I think it is scandalous that this is being discussed. Israel has a place there,” he said in an interview with broadcaster ARD earlier this month.
In recent months, several countries have called upon the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to expel Israel due to the offensive in the Gaza Strip.
State broadcasters in countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, and Iceland even threatened to withdraw from the European contest if Israel were to participate.
Eurovision Planned “Vote” on Israel’s Participation, But Reversed Decision
At the end of September, the EBU decided to bring forward a meeting to November to discuss and vote on Israel’s participation, acknowledging an “unprecedented diversity of opinions” regarding Israeli broadcaster KAN’s involvement.
An extraordinary General Assembly session was set to be held in early November for members to vote “on the issue of participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.”
However, around two weeks ago, following the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, the decision was reversed and the “extraordinary meeting” was canceled.
According to a statement from Austria’s public broadcaster ORF, responsible for organizing Eurovision in 2026, “the decision will now be made by the General Assembly in December, as initially planned.”
In this year’s edition, Israel nearly surpassed Austria in the Eurovision final, which Austria won at the last moment. Austria, with JJ and ‘Wasted Love,’ received a total of 436 points: 258 from the jury and 178 from the public. Israel, with Yuval Raphael and ‘New Day Will Rise,’ accumulated 357 points, with 60 from the jury and 297 from the public.
The next Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Vienna, Austria, with semifinals scheduled for May 12 and 14, and the grand final on May 16, 2026.
