Slovenia Cancels Eurovision Broadcast, Will Air 'Voices of Palestine' Special
Following Ireland and Spain, Slovenian broadcaster RTV joins the boycott over Israel's participation, opting to air Palestinian documentaries instead of the Vienna contest.
- Publish date: Friday، 24 April 2026 Reading time: two min read Last update: since 3 days
Slovenia has joined Ireland and Spain in boycotting the Eurovision Song Contest this year, with the national broadcaster RTV Slovenia confirming it will not air the world's largest live music event. Instead of the competition, the station will broadcast a special film series titled Voices of Palestine, featuring Palestinian documentaries and feature films.
"We will not be broadcasting the Eurovision song contest," said Ksenija Horvat, director of RTV Slovenia, in a statement to the Associated Press. "We will be airing the film series Voices of Palestine, featuring Palestinian documentaries and feature films."
The decision follows similar moves by Spain's RTVE, which announced last week that it would not broadcast the event for the first time since the country's debut in 1961. Ireland's public broadcaster, RTÉ, had already declared in December that it would neither participate in nor broadcast the contest. While the Netherlands and Iceland also withdrew their entries last December, their national broadcasters, NPO and RÚV, confirmed they would still air the competition.
The 70th anniversary of Eurovision is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, from May 12 to 16, with 35 countries set to compete. The wave of withdrawals and broadcast blackouts stems from the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision to allow Israel to participate despite widespread criticism regarding its military conduct in the war in Gaza.
Slovenia's political leadership has been particularly vocal on the issue. Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party secured a narrow victory in the March elections, has criticized Israel's actions in Gaza. In August 2025, his government implemented a ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, citing policies that undermine prospects for lasting peace.
Organizers of the contest, operating under the slogan "United by Music," have consistently attempted to prioritize pop culture over political discourse. However, the event has faced recurring challenges in separating itself from global conflicts. Russia was barred from the competition in 2022 following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More recently, the war in Gaza has generated significant unrest around the event, prompting organizers to enforce strict regulations on political demonstrations and flag-waving outside venues.
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