Five countries have decided to either withdraw, not participate, or boycott the 70th official Eurovision Song Contest after the EBU controversially voted to keep Israel in the annual contest. 

The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all withdrew immediately after the decision was announced, whereas Iceland held a meeting and withdrew on December 10. 

The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition that last year featured 37 participants from across Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Israel’s involvement in the contest has been met with severe backlash ever since 2024 due to its war with Gaza, but this year has become the first in which several countries have boycotted and withdrawn. 

To give further context, Spain has been in the contest for 64 consecutive participations ever since it first competed in 1961. This marks the first year Spain has left the contest, a country that not only gives a lot of money to the contest but is also one of the most popular countries every year. Iceland has not been involved in the competition twice ever since its 1986 debut, and the other countries that have boycotted have not been involved for two to four years since their debut.