Germany’s culture minister, Wolfram Weimer, on Saturday strongly condemned threats by several European countries to boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest if Israel is allowed to participate, decrying the politicization of a cultural event, AFP reported.
Spain announced this week it would boycott the world’s largest live televised music event in May if Israel takes part. Ireland, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands have made similar threats.
In a statement on Saturday, Weimer declared, “Eurovision was founded to bring nations together through music. Excluding Israel today goes against this fundamental idea and turns a celebration of understanding between peoples into a tribunal.”
He emphasized the contest’s origins, stating, “It’s precisely because Eurovision was born on the ruins of war that it should not become a scene of exclusion.”
Weimer stressed that the event’s core principle is artistic merit over nationality. “Eurovision is based on the principle that artists are judged on their art and not on their nationality. The culture of cancellation is not the solution — the solution is diversity and cohesion,” he said.
The EBU initiated a consultation process in July with the 37 broadcasters who participated in last year’s contest, after a meeting hosted by the BBC in London to discuss the growing divisions over Israel’s participation in 2026. The deadline for broadcasters to inform the EBU of their decision to participate has been extended to December.
Calls to exclude Israel from Eurovision intensified in recent months, following the war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7 massacre against Israel.
In April, shortly before the 2025 contest in Basel, formal requests to ban Israel were submitted by several countries, including Iceland and Spain.
The calls grew after Israel’s entry, “New Day Will Rise” performed by Yuval Raphael, came in second behind the Austrian winner, though Israel only received 60 points from the juries. The remaining 297 points came from the public, which overwhelmingly favored Israel’s entry over any other country.
Those results led broadcasters from Spain, Iceland, Belgium, Finland, and Ireland, to either request audits of their national televoting results or question the current methodology.
The Austrian winner of this year’s contest, JJ, called for Israel to be suspended from Eurovision, though he later walked back those comments.