Spain may stay out of Eurovision for a second year after RTVE proposed extending its withdrawal over Israel's participation. The UER says it respects the pending vote but would be disappointed by another absence.
Spain could miss Eurovision for a second year after RTVE president José Pablo López said he would ask the corporation's board to extend the suspension over Israel's participation. The proposal has not been approved. RTVE's Consejo de Administración will make the final decision before Spain's place at the 2027 contest in Bulgaria is settled.
The Unión Europea de Radiodifusión (UER) has responded cautiously but clearly. It says it respects RTVE's internal process and will wait for the board's decision. It also acknowledges that Spain's absence would disappoint the organisation. The UER hopes RTVE will return to the competition in the future. Reports in independent European media put the decision around mid-October 2026.
Independent European media expect RTVE’s board to settle Spain’s position on Eurovision 2027 around mid-October 2026. Until that vote, the proposed continuation of the withdrawal remains unapproved.
The response follows changes to the festival's rules by the European broadcasting body. Several public broadcasters had raised concerns. The measures include stronger safeguards against outside influence, tighter voting limits, the return of professional juries in the semi-finals, broader and more diverse juries, and improved voting procedures. RTVE says the changes do not go far enough because Israel is still allowed to take part.
The reforms have not satisfied RTVE.
López said the Spanish broadcaster had worked with other major European public operators over the past year to demand tougher governance rules. RTVE wanted real penalties for attempts to use the festival for political purposes. It also sought guarantees that sponsorships and the contest itself would remain neutral. López said the negotiations secured some changes, but not all of the corporation's goals. RTVE reported its own account of the proposal, which Euronews and other European media also covered.
Spain was among the countries that did not take part in Eurovision 2026 after Israel’s participation was confirmed. Reports also identified the Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia among the broadcasters that stayed out of that edition.
His objection focuses on the continued participation of Israel's public broadcaster. López described the situation as deeply painful. He also separated the UER's technical changes from what he sees as an unresolved ethical issue. For RTVE, better procedures do not answer whether the festival can remain strictly neutral while Israel's broadcaster continues to participate. In RTVE's view, the dispute is political and ethical, not simply about voting or contest administration.
The position follows an earlier decision by RTVE's board. In September 2025, it agreed to withdraw Spain from Eurovision if Israel remained in the contest. Spain then missed the 2026 edition in Vienna after Israel's public broadcaster was confirmed as a participant. The new proposal would extend the absence to two consecutive festivals. An earlier report described the same unresolved conflict between RTVE's demands and the UER's reforms.
RTVE has taken part in Eurovision since 1961. That history helps explain why the UER stresses Spain's contribution while avoiding direct criticism of López's recommendation. Its message is an invitation to return, not a decision on Spain's participation.
The immediate issue is institutional, and the outcome is still open. López has made his recommendation. The UER has said it would be disappointed. RTVE's board must now decide whether the suspension continues. The two sides remain apart: the UER sees its rule changes as a meaningful response, while RTVE says Israel's continued participation is an ethical failure that technical safeguards cannot fix. Until the board votes, Spain's second Eurovision absence remains a proposal rather than a settled outcome. López's announcement has made the dispute more concrete and left Spain's return to a political and ethical judgment inside RTVE.
