Ireland's RTÉ to boycott Eurovision over Israel inclusion for second year

Ireland will not participate in or broadcast next year's Eurovision Song Contest, public broadcaster RTÉ said, 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 withdrawals and controversies in recent years.

"RTÉ will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, nor will RTÉ broadcast the competition," the broadcaster said on Thursday.

"RTÉ 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.

RTÉ quoted Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green as saying that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, regretted but respected RTÉ's decision.

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"They remain a valued part of our family and will be missed," RTÉ reported Green as saying.

Earlier this month, the EBU said it was 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 from hosting 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 Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.

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

This year's competition drew 131 million viewers, down 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.