Five countries boycotted Eurovision in 2026 over Israel’s participation during the war on Gaza, and the audience dropped from 166 million in 2025 to 131 million. Organizers want to widen the contest’s reach while rewriting hosting and voting rules around political disputes that have already shaken participation.
Unity, with rules attached
At the European Broadcasting Union’s annual workshop in mid-September, Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green described the contest as a force for togetherness. “Bringing the world together through music has always been an incredibly powerful idea and has stood the test of time for 70 years,” he told DW. He added that “the more difficult the world gets around us, the more important these shows of unity, these shows of togetherness become.”
Boycotts over Israel’s participation marked the 2026 event. The Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia and Ireland stayed away. Ireland confirmed it won’t participate for a second time in a row. The Netherlands’ usual Eurovision broadcaster said it would again snub the contest, arguing that it “can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict.” The Dutch public broadcasting association NPO later decided to resume participation.
The three other countries that withdrew in 2026 hadn’t officially announced whether they’ll take part in 2027. Broadcasters can withdraw their applications without a financial penalty until mid-October 2026. Organizers face a deadline as they try to manage decisions through rules.
The rulebook meets the conflict
In August, organizers announced that the winning broadcaster would automatically be ineligible to host if “an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region.” The winning country usually hosts the following edition. The rule names no country; the report said organizers intended it to keep the show from being held in Israel, which came close to winning in 2025 and 2026.
The United Kingdom hosted the 2023 event on behalf of Ukraine because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Now organizers are setting terms for how conflict can affect the next host, even as they describe Eurovision as a show of unity. The contradiction needs no slogan. It’s in the rule and the boycotts.
Organizers are also changing how viewers vote after controversy in 2025, when the Israeli government encouraged Israelis to register multiple votes for its contestant. Viewers can currently cast up to 10 votes per payment method by phone, text message or online. Organizers cut the maximum from 20 to 10 after that controversy, and now plan to move voting entirely online and require voters to select three acts instead of one.
A bigger stage, backed by public money
Bulgaria will host the 2027 contest after singer Dara won in Vienna with “Bangaranga.” The event will take place in Burgas, on the Black Sea coast. Residents celebrated the selection with spontaneous music and dance performances and flash mobs, said Milena Milotinova, general director of Bulgaria’s public broadcaster BNT, which will host the televised event.
“I’m glad that people in Bulgaria are actually so passionate about Eurovision,” Milotinova told DW. Bulgaria first participated in 2005 and is developing infrastructure for the event. “The important thing is that we already have a hall, and the stage design is being developed based on that,” she said. “We are in the midst of frantic preparations. There are no days off, so we hope we’ll be able to get everything done on time and put on a spectacular, world-class Eurovision show.”
The contest’s expansion is also a government-backed cultural and diplomatic project. Canada’s addition to the lineup was announced in July, with its debut planned for 2027. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government is using participation to deepen cultural and diplomatic ties with Europe, and its budget included $150 million Canadian (€93 million, $106 million) in funding for the broadcaster. “This is the biggest global music event. So it’s an opportunity to put our artists on this global stage,” said Jennifer Dettman, Canada’s Eurovision Song Contest head of delegation.
Europe’s geographic boundaries don’t limit the contest: participation is open to active members of the European Broadcasting Union. Israel’s public broadcaster has competed regularly since 1973, and Australia joined as a special participant in 2015 and has remained a contestant since. Eurovision Song Contest Asia is scheduled to debut in Bangkok in November 2026, with 11 countries taking part and negotiations under way to attract more in 2027. Organizers announced a Latin American spin-off previously, but it hasn’t materialized. The institution keeps widening the stage; political disputes travel with it.