Ireland will boycott Eurovision for a second consecutive year, with public broadcaster RTÉ refusing both to participate in and broadcast the 2027 contest because Israel remains eligible to compete.
The decision comes after a turbulent year for Eurovision. Israel's 2025 entry finished second overall, despite ranking only joint-14th with national juries, after receiving a huge boost from the public vote. Several broadcasters subsequently questioned how the televote was being managed, prompting the European Broadcasting Union to review its voting system.
During the 2026 contest, Israel's broadcaster KAN was formally warned after promotional videos encouraged viewers to “vote 10 times” for its entry. The EBU said directly encouraging audiences to use all 10 votes for one artist was against the rules, and yet confirmed that Israel could continue competing.
Ireland was one of five countries, alongside Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia, to boycott Eurovision 2026 over Israel's participation. The Netherlands has also announced it will not participate in 2027.
While Eurovision's organisers have tried to address concerns, they have fallen short of barring Israel from the competition; whilst RTÉ said Ireland’s participation could not be justified amid the continuing loss of life and Israel’s war on Gaza.
