Spain and Slovenia skipped Eurovision over Israel. Will they say yes by December?
On 28 October the European Broadcasting Union, which runs Eurovision, gave Spain and Slovenia until December to say if they will take part in 2027.
What happened
The European Broadcasting Union said broadcasters from 36 countries will take part in Eurovision 2027 in Burgas, Bulgaria, and gave Spain and Slovenia until December to confirm.
Thirty-six countries will take part in Eurovision 2027, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, said on . The contest is in Burgas, Bulgaria, and the final is on . Spain and Slovenia are not on the list. The EBU said they “have not yet decided“.
The Union has given both broadcasters until December to confirm their participation “in recognition of the complexity of the matter.”
Politico Europe, on the EBU statement of 28 October 2026
Five countries stayed away from the 2026 contest in protest at Israel taking part, because of the war in Gaza. Ireland, the Netherlands and Iceland will stay away again in 2027, and Israel is still in the contest. In August the EBU changed its rules so that a country in an armed conflict cannot host the contest, but it did not remove Israel.
In 2026 Spain was not in the contest for the first time since 1961, and its public broadcaster RTVE did not show the final. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez backed that choice. On the BBC reported that the head of RTVE is in favour of staying away again. Spain is the only one of the five that pays the most to the contest and always goes straight to the final.
Slovenia’s public broadcaster, RTV Slovenija, said on that it had not yet told the EBU it wanted to take part. It said money is an important limit, and that the choice depends on its plan for programmes in 2027. It also said it had not asked for more time.
Sources: politico.eu
The Pattern
We looked for cases where a country stayed away from Eurovision in protest at another country, the host or the organisers, and then had to decide about the next contest. We found seven such times since 1975.
Show the other 5 cases
The Read
Four times a country came back, and each time the reason for its protest had moved or gone. Russia came back in 2018, when the contest left Ukraine for Portugal. Armenia and Georgia came back once the contest had left Azerbaijan and Russia. In 1976 Greece came back, and Turkey stayed away.
This time Israel is still in the contest. Ireland and the Netherlands, two of the three that said no this year, pointed to that. The Netherlands said yes on and took it back on . All seven times were at Eurovision, and none had a separate deadline like the one Spain and Slovenia have now. Spain also pays more to the contest than any of the others that stayed away.
Disclaimer
Hunch works only from sources that are publicly available, and publishes on the basis of analysis of that material. We do not form an editorial opinion or take sides, we give a simpler and wider view of news that already exists. If information in a source we used was inaccurate, distorted, or later disputed but had already entered our analysis, Hunch accepts no liability for that. Predictions are not advice. Phase 1 markets use Hunch Points, not money.
Published by Hunch under the Editorial Code. Complaints and corrections: /contact/.