Eurovision issues formal warning to Israeli broadcaster | RTÉ News (IE)

Eurovision organizers have formally warned Israel's public broadcaster, KAN, over promotional videos that urged viewers to vote multiple times for the country's entry. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) stated that these videos, which encouraged "vote 10 times for Israel," contravened the rules and spirit of the competition.

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Within 20 minutes, we had contacted the KAN delegation to ask them to immediately stop any distribution of the videos and remove them from any platforms where they had been published. They immediately acted to do this.

Martin Green, Eurovision Song Contest director, confirmed that organizers were alerted to the videos on May 8 and promptly contacted KAN to cease distribution. While the EBU acknowledged that the videos did not appear to be part of a large-scale funded campaign and that the scale of voting means they couldn't affect the overall result (with 50% of votes coming from professional juries), a direct appeal to maximize individual votes was deemed unacceptable.

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The scale of our vote means that such activity cannot affect the overall result and 50% of all votes this year are supplied through professional juries.

This incident adds to a series of controversies surrounding Israel's participation in the contest. Several national broadcasters, including RTÉ from Ireland, have opted out of broadcasting or participating in Eurovision 2026 due to concerns related to Israel's involvement. The EBU has emphasized its commitment to monitoring promotional activities and taking appropriate action, underscoring the importance of fair play and adherence to the contest's established guidelines.

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Nevertheless, we have issued a formal warning letter to KAN and will continue to monitor any promotional activities carefully and take appropriate action where needed.