Overview
- Chancellor Christian Stocker and State Secretary Alexander Pröll of the ÖVP are pressuring broadcaster ORF and the city of Vienna to forgo hosting Eurovision 2026 if Israel is excluded.
- The European Broadcasting Union plans a mid-November vote to decide whether Israel’s broadcaster KAN can participate in next year’s contest.
- National broadcasters in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland have threatened to skip the event if Israel is allowed to compete.
- Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and ORF Director-General Roland Weißmann have publicly backed Israel’s participation, underscoring divisions inside Austria over how to proceed.
- Local reporting says Austria could face a penalty of up to €40 million if it withdraws from hosting, and Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz says his country should pull out if Israel is barred.