The head of the Spanish Public Broadcasting Corporation said on Tuesday that he supports boycotting the Eurovision competition again due to Israel's participation, which may increase the number of countries boycotting the largest live television music event in the world.
Spain joined the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia in withdrawing from this year's competition in Austria. In protest against Israel's participation, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza that broke out following Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023.
Ireland and the Netherlands also announced their boycott of the 2027 competition in Bulgaria, and the Irish Radio and Television Corporation (RTE) attributed its decision to “the horrific and continuing loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there.”
Israeli bombing has killed more than 1,300 people in the devastated Palestinian Strip since the ceasefire in October 2025, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, whose figures the United Nations generally considers reliable.
The head of the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, José Pablo Lopez, told a Senate committee on Tuesday that it was “extremely painful” for the Israeli public broadcaster to continue participating in Eurovision, “despite everything, and in light of the situation that Gaza is still experiencing.”
Last August, Eurovision organizers announced that they would not allow any country involved in an armed conflict to host the competition.
The winner usually gets the right to host the next session, and Israel is close to winning the competition in 2025 and 2026.
Lopez said that “progress has been achieved on the technical level, but it is clear that there are also outstanding issues on the moral level.”
He added: “For this reason, I announce that I will propose to the RTVE Board of Directors to maintain the suspension of our participation in (Eurovision).”
Spanish media reported that the next meeting of the Board of Directors will be held by mid-October.
Spain is one of the group called the “Big Five” countries that provide the largest financial contributions to the European Radio and Television Union, the organizer of the Eurovision competition, and automatically qualifies for the final of the competition.
The Palestinian cause enjoys broad support in Spain. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is a vocal critic of Israel, and has described its actions in Gaza as genocide.
Today (Tuesday), British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce a new defense partnership in the field of artificial intelligence between Britain and the United States, as part of efforts to push countries to better use this technology to protect critical infrastructure and monitor threats.
During the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Burnham will call on countries to cooperate in using technology to enhance security and help reduce cost-of-living pressures, in a speech he will deliver today (Tuesday), according to what Reuters reported.
This will be the first multilateral meeting in which Burnham will participate in his capacity as Prime Minister, and he will also meet US President Donald Trump.
“When the global financial crisis hit, Britain brought together the world's leading economies,” Burnham said in a statement. As we confront the opportunities and challenges presented by artificial intelligence, we will demonstrate the same leadership.”
He added: “This ambition is embodied in our new defense partnership with the United States on artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, which brings together the brightest minds to enhance the protection of critical infrastructure, deter those who threaten our security, and leverage the enormous potential of artificial intelligence to our advantage.”
This cooperation will help Britain protect its vital infrastructure, from sea lanes to airspace.
Britain is the third largest market for artificial intelligence in the world after the United States and China, and there are early signs that this technology will help revive its stagnant economy.
However, concerns are growing that safety efforts are not keeping pace with increasingly sophisticated regulations.
Britain and the United States have close cooperation in several areas, including security, technology, finance and broader foreign policy, despite some public disagreements during Trump's two presidential terms.
Britain has a leading AI Security Institute, established after it hosted the first Global AI Safety Summit in 2023. The institute tests advanced AI models and assesses their capabilities and potential for misuse.
Reports indicated that Anthropic withheld its latest models from the institute, raising concerns that the collaborative approach adopted by Britain may not be sufficient to confront the growing threats posed by artificial intelligence.
Burnham is expected to announce that Britain will lead efforts to address global challenges such as artificial intelligence, while hosting the G20 next year.
