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Ireland has announced it will boycott next year's Eurovision Song Contest for the second consecutive year due to Israel’s participation, citing concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and restrictions on press access there. The Irish public broadcaster RTE made this decision based on “the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza.” Earlier, the Netherlands also decided not to participate in the 2027 competition. Eurovision organizers have defended their stance, emphasizing the event’s role in fostering international unity despite current divisions.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ announced it would boycott the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest for a second consecutive year due to Israel's participation. Ireland joins five other countries, including the Netherlands and Spain, which skipped the 2026 contest over the same issue. RTÉ cited "the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza" and the humanitarian crisis affecting civilians as reasons for its decision not to participate or broadcast next year’s competition, set to take place in Burgas, Bulgaria from May 11-15. Eurovision's director Martin Green expressed regret but respected RTÉ's stance.
Written for “Ireland Eurovision Boycott” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 4 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
-
Ireland has become the second country, after the Netherlands, to announce a boycott of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation.
left frames Israel's participation negatively
-
Irish public broadcaster RTE said in a statement on Thursday that the country’s participation could not be justified “given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza” and that the humanitarian crisis in the enclave “continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”.
left criticizes Israel's actions in Gaza
-
RTE, which manages Ireland’s selection and participation in Eurovision, added that it remained “deeply concerned by the continued denial of independent access [for] international journalists to the territory”.
left criticizes Israel's restrictions on media access
-
Earlier this month, Eurovision organisers said they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.
right supports exclusion of countries in conflict
Leaning score -0.45 for article 16454 (high confidence, 4 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-17
Ireland has become the second country, after the Netherlands, to announce a boycott of next year’s Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation.
asserted
Ireland → become → participation
Irish public broadcaster RTE said in a statement on Thursday that the country’s participation could not be justified “given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza” and that the humanitarian crisis in the enclave “continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk”.
uncertain
crisis → say → risk
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list of 3 items- list 1 of 3‘Justice prevailed’: Is the Netherlands shifting its stance on Israel?
asserted
Netherlands → prevail → Israel
- list 2 of 3Eurovision to bar countries at war from hosting: What that means
- list 3 of 3Dutch public broadcaster to boycott ‘no longer’ neutral Eurovision
RTE, which manages Ireland’s selection and participation in Eurovision, added that it remained “deeply concerned by the continued denial of independent access [for] international journalists to the territory”.
asserted
it → bar → territory
The decision marks the second consecutive year that Ireland will neither participate in nor broadcast the competition, which is the world’s most popular television music show.
asserted
which → mark → competition
Earlier this month, Eurovision organisers said they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.
asserted
they → say → competition
However, the Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros said the exclusion of countries in conflict was not “sufficient”.
asserted
exclusion → say → conflict
Avrotros announced last month that it was withdrawing from the 2027 competition.
asserted
it → announce → competition
It said Eurovision could “no longer be considered neutral” given Israel’s participation in “a large-scale military conflict” in Gaza.
uncertain
Eurovision → say → Gaza
Both Ireland and the Netherlands were among five countries that withdrew from Eurovision 2026 in Vienna earlier this year.
asserted
that → withdraw → Vienna
Spain, Slovenia and Iceland also decided not to participate.
asserted
Spain → decide → ?
Eurovision Director Martin Green said on Thurday that organisers “fully respect” Ireland’s decision and that they “will be missed”.
asserted
they → say → decision
“The Eurovision Song Contest is at its best when broadcasters and their artists from different countries come together to share music, celebrate creativity and create connections between audiences,” Green said.
asserted
Green → come → audiences
“That power to bring people together is at the heart of what makes the Contest so special, and is even more important now in an increasingly difficult and divided world.”
The 2026 show, which Bulgaria won, attracted 132 million viewers, 34 million fewer than its 2025 edition.
asserted
Bulgaria → bring → edition
Thousands of protesters gathered outside the venue in the Austrian capital during the final in mid-May to oppose Israel’s participation.
uncertain
Thousands → gather → participation
The European Broadcasting Union organises the annual music competition.
asserted
Union → organise → competition
It has faced accusations of applying a double standard for refusing to exclude Israel, despite banning Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
asserted
It → face → 2022
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