ANALYSIS
Spain will boycott Eurovision if Israel participates
After the last edition of Eurovision, held in May, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, had already considered that Israel should not continue in the European song contest.
Israeli artist Yuval Raphael, at Eurovision 2025, and Pedro Sanchez.
Spain will not attend Eurovision "if Israel continues in the music festival while the massacre in Gaza persists," the public corporation Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), in charge of selecting the representative, announced Tuesday.
The channel's board of directors, at the proposal of its president, José Pablo López, approved withdrawing Spain from the contest to be held next year in Vienna, unless Israel is expelled from the competition.
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RTVE, subsidized by the Socialist government of Pedro Sánchez, said in a statement that "the measure has been taken at the proposal of the president of RTVE, José Pablo López, by an absolute majority of the Corporation's administrative body, with 10 votes in favor, 4 against and one abstention."
Spain is the first member country of the Eurovision Big Five (composed of United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Spain) to make this decision, joining countries such as Ireland, Slovenia, Island and The Netherlands.
Pedro Sánchez recognizes Palestine as a state
After the last edition of Eurovision, held in May, the Spanish prime minister had already considered that Israel should not continue in the European song contest.
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Spain, which recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, has become one of the most critical voices in the European Union with the Netanyahu government.
Government feels "pride" in anti-Israel demonstrations
This Sunday, the last stage of La Vuelta cycling tour of Spain ended up being suspended because of anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian protests in the streets of Madrid.
Earlier in the day, Sanchez told a rally in the city of Malaga that he was "proud" of the demonstrations against the war in Gaza and in support of the Palestinians that have repeatedly disrupted the race, directed mainly against the Israel-Premier Tech team.
"Today marks the end of the Vuelta," Sanchez said. "Our respect and recognition to the athletes and our admiration to the Spanish people who mobilize for just causes such as Palestine."
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