RTVE President Lopez announces his bid not to participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest

RTVE President Jose Pablo Lopez announced in the Senate today that he will submit a proposal to the board of directors for Spain not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria in 2027.

"No one can bear witness to the suffering of the Palestinian people without condemning this human tragedy." Lopez said:

"Our position is clear. Our hands are not tied. Over the past year, we have led the call for reform of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), together with other countries. We have also negotiated tighter governance rules, sanctions against political instrumentalization and guarantees of the impartiality of the festival."

Stating that "they are aware that not all goals have been achieved in the initiatives against Israel, and that they have no intention of embellishing the facts," RTVE President said, "Despite everything, it is sad that Israel's public broadcaster will continue to participate in Eurovision." he said.

If Lopez's proposal is approved by the RTVE board of directors, Spain will not send a representative to Eurovision once again due to "protesting Israel's participation and the escalation of the conflict in Gaza, which has already been the scene of a massive humanitarian massacre for nearly three years."

Dutch state television Avrotros announced in August that it "believes that the Eurovision Song Contest has lost its impartial character due to the impact of the war in Gaza and the tensions in the Middle East, and that it will not send representatives to the festival due to Israel's participation."

Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia did not participate in last year's Eurovision (2026), protesting Israel's participation.

Bulgaria's representative Dara won the competition held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, with her song "Bangaranga".

The 2027 Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea coast, on 15 May.