The winning country usually hosts the following year's contest, but under the new rules, the winning country will be "automatically ineligible to host the contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation or any other situation substantially affects the security, defence or stability of its state or its immediate region," Eurovision Song Contest organizers announced.
Eurovision, the world's largest international song contest, will no longer allow countries at war to host the contest.
The winning country usually hosts the following year's contest, but under the new rules, the winning country will be "automatically ineligible to host the contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation or any other situation substantially affects the security, defence or stability of its state or its immediate region," Eurovision Song Contest organizers announced.
The change comes after several European countries boycotted this year's contest due to Israel's involvement. Israel came in second in both the 2025 and 2026 contests, raising questions about whether it would be allowed to host the contest if it were to win.
The contest's governing body approved the change after receiving feedback from participating broadcasters.
"These changes are about providing greater clarity for everyone involved, protecting artists and ensuring that the contest continues to offer a safe and welcoming environment, while maintaining the spirit and integrity that make the Eurovision Song Contest so special," said Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest.
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Eurovision organizers also made several other changes to the contest rules, including increasing the minimum age for performers from 16 to 18 years old, provided they have turned 18 on the first day of rehearsals.
Five countries – Spain, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia – boycotted this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria, in May after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rejected calls to suspend Israel from the contest. The Irish public broadcaster, RTÉ, said in a statement in September that “its participation would be unacceptable, given the continuing and horrific loss of life in Gaza.” José Pablo López, president of Spanish public broadcaster RTVE, said that same month that “the time has come to break the silence within the EBU on the genocide in Gaza.”
The broadcasters also argued that Eurovision contestants are not just ordinary performers, but representatives of their countries. "'Eurovision' is not just a song contest," declared López. It is "the most politicized festival in existence."
The broadcasters' decision to withdraw from the contest marked the largest multinational political boycott in Eurovision history.
The boycott came amid strong public backlash against Israel's inclusion in the competition, despite Israel's military occupation and bombing of Gaza, where, according to the text of the non-participation, more than 73 people have lost their lives since October 7, 2023.
Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973, becoming the first non-European country to join the contest. Since Eurovision is organized by public broadcasters that are part of the EBU, it also includes EBU members outside Europe, such as Canada, which will be eligible to participate in the 2027 contest after its broadcaster joined the Union in 2026. Bulgaria is expected to organize the 2027 contest.
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But Israel’s involvement in recent years has raised questions about whether the contest is taking a similar stance towards countries at war. Eurovision banned Russia from the contest after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, arguing that its involvement would damage the contest’s reputation. Later that year, the EBU indefinitely suspended Russian state broadcasters from the union’s governing bodies and membership.
After Israel came second in the 2025 and 2026 contests – results that also came under scrutiny due to allegations of government interference, which Israel denied – some broadcasters reportedly expressed security concerns if the contest were to be held there in the future.
A Eurovision News Spotlight investigation revealed that the Israeli government had funded an extensive online campaign for its representative in the 2025 contest. The EBU insisted that the result was valid, but this year it imposed new restrictions prohibiting disproportionate promotion, including state-backed campaigns. The EBU officially warned the Israeli broadcaster, KAN, over videos that urged viewers to cast all 10 of their votes for Israel. The broadcaster denied any wrongdoing and the EBU said the videos did not influence the results of the contest.
Eurovision has previously moved contests due to geopolitical issues, although until now there had been no formal rule to do so. Ukraine hosted Eurovision in 2017, despite fighting between Ukrainian forces and Moscow-backed separatists in the east of the country. The country won again in 2022, but the 2023 contest was ultimately hosted in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on behalf of Ukraine.
The new rule also institutionalizes a process to determine whether a winning country that is not at war is suitable to host the contest. The EBU indicated that it may engage an independent security assessment to determine whether a winning country can safely host the contest and, if this is not possible, the EBU will designate another host country.
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Under the new rules, the country designated as the host will organize the contest “in its own right” and “will not be obliged to conduct the activity on behalf of another member.” This change differs from the 2023 contest, for which British and Ukrainian broadcasters collaborated in producing the contest.
Taken from "Time"
