Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands have pulled out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest .

The decision came after a vote on whether Israel should be able to compete in next year’s contest due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and concerns about unfair voting.

The UK’s BBC was among around 50 broadcasters which attended a meeting of the European Broadcasting UNION (EBU) on Thursday (4 December) on the future of the show .

Some countries had already shown support to Israel’s participation, including Germany, who had threatened they would pull out if Israel was barred.

Since the war in Gaza started, a number of Eurovision entrants have voiced their concern over Israel still being included. Meanwhile, there have been allegations that last year’s Israel entry, Yuval Raphael, receive

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