Eurovision 2026 is back this week, with countries all over the continent battling it out to be crowned winner.
It is the 70th edition of the competition, and is taking place in Vienna, Austria, after it won last year’s contest with the song “Wasted Love” by JJ.
There are 35 countries taking part, which is two fewer than in 2025 and the smallest number of participants since 2003, before the introduction of semi-finals.
Five countries opted not to participate this year, including one of the “big five”. Here are which ones and why they pulled out.
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What are the 5 countries boycotting Eurovision 2026 and why?
The five countries that are boycotting Eurovision 2026 are:
Iceland
Ireland
The Netherlands
Slovenia
Spain
It marks the largest number of boycotting countries in the contest’s history since 1970.
The countries’ omission from Eurovision is Israel’s participation and the Gaza war, which began in 2023.
Calls for the country to be excluded and demonstrations against its participation happened at both the 2024 and 2025 Eurovision events.
Performers at both competitions were put under pressure by fans to pull out, with viewing figures also dipping over the last two years.
Despite Austria winning the contest last year, Israel’s entry, Yuval Raphael, won the public vote.
Several participating broadcasters called for a rework of the televoting system and an independent audit of individual countries’ televoting results following the 2025 final.
Ahead of the 2026 contest, broadcasters from Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain announced their intention to boycott if Israel was allowed to compete.
When they were granted permission to take part on December 4, broadcasters from the four countries announced they would go ahead with their boycott, followed by Iceland on December 10.
Eurovision director Martin Green said at the time: “We respect the decision of all broadcasters who have chosen not to participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest and hope to welcome them back soon.”
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When is Eurovision 2026?
The Eurovision 2026 semi-finals will be broadcast on May 12 and 14, with the grand final taking place on May 16 at Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle.
UK viewers can watch all shows live on BBC One and iPlayer, or listen on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, with the coverage beginning on TV at 8pm.
Will you be watching Eurovision this year? Let us know in the comments.