The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the annual Eurovision Song Contest, announced the 2026 semifinal lineup on Monday, which will be held across two evenings. It was announced that Israel will perform in the first semifinal during the second half of the show.
This year’s Eurovision contest will take place in May in Vienna. The first semifinal will be held on May 12, the second on May 14, and the final will be on May 16.
Israel’s contestant, yet to be selected, will compete in the first semifinal against Georgia, Portugal, Croatia, Sweden, Finland, Moldova, Greece, Montenegro, Estonia, San Marino, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania, and Serbia.
The countries in the second semifinal are Armenia, Romania, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Albania, Denmark, Cyprus, Norway, Malta, Australia, Ukraine, and Latvia.
Five countries to boycott 2026's Eurovision
Five countries that are regulars at Eurovision have withdrawn in protest over Israel’s participation: Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Iceland, and Ireland. Several more countries are reportedly considering withdrawing, among them Portugal and Finland.
Spain's decision not to participate is especially significant, as it was one of the so-called “Big Five,” which have traditionally been the main sponsors of Eurovision. The others, the UK, Italy, Germany, and France, are going ahead with the competition. These countries are guaranteed a spot in the finals.
The countries boycotting are doing so as a protest against Israel’s conduct during the Israel-Hamas War.
In the past two Eurovision song contests that have been held since the war broke out in 2023, Israel’s 2024 contestant, Eden Golan, and the 2025 contest, Yuval Raphael, were threatened with death and were harassed with booing and heckling while they performed.
Despite attempts to intimidate them, Golan finished second in the audience vote and fifth overall, while Raphael finished first in the audience vote and second overall.
Many countries were suspicious of how Raphael won the popular vote last year and asked the Eurovision to investigate the audience voting. Eurovision’s governing body found that Israel had not broken any rules but announced some rule changes at its December 2025 meeting.
Websites affiliated with a candidate’s country may not promote the candidate online in the future. While once home voters were allowed to vote 20 times, they can now cast only 10 votes. The rule limiting televoting to 10 per person gives more power to the national juries that, as a rule, tend to score Israel far lower than the popular voting.
Israel’s talent competition, the Next Star for Eurovision on Keshet’s Channel 12, will soon crown its winner, and Israel’s Eurovision committee will pick a song. Israel has been competing in Eurovision since 1973 and has won four times, in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018.