Spain is moving toward a second straight absence from Eurovision. RTVE president José Pablo López said he will propose withdrawing from the 2027 contest. The proposal is expected before RTVE's Council of Administration at a meeting in mid-October in Santander. Ireland has already confirmed it will not attend the event in Burgas, Bulgaria.
The decision is not final: López still needs the council's approval. A mid-September meeting on Spain's participation in Eurovision 2027 was postponed, so RTVE had yet to make a formal decision. The same body backed non-participation in 2026, with 10 of its 15 members voting for the measure.
RTVE's position is tied to Israel's presence in Eurovision. López acknowledged several changes over the past year. Israeli company Moroccanoil's sponsorship ended, and countries at war were barred from hosting the festival. A new voting system was also introduced to prevent vote manipulation. Reuters and RTÉ reported that the European Broadcasting Union revised several Eurovision rules. RTVE still considers the changes insufficient.
Those measures have not satisfied the RTVE president. One unresolved demand is the removal of Eurovision director Martin Green. López has also opposed Spain's participation because not every stated objective was met. RTÉ reported that he directly linked any continuation of the boycott to Israel remaining in the contest.
The next contest now faces a wider boycott. Spain was part of a broader group of countries that declined to participate in the 2026 contest because Israel was admitted. RTÉ also identified Slovenia and Iceland among the countries associated with that earlier wave, also to Spain. Ireland and the Netherlands were also part of the group.
Spain's proposed withdrawal would put it alongside Ireland, which confirmed its absence last week. The 2027 festival is scheduled for Burgas. The Council of Administration will decide Spain's participation in Santander. Bulgaria will host the contest, while RTVE's governing body will settle whether Spain takes part.
The Eurovision decision is separate from the multilateralism position Pedro Sánchez presented in New York coverage, where Spain rejected smaller circles in favour of broader international cooperation. RTVE is pursuing its proposal through an internal vote by its governing body, rather than having the government act directly.
Spain will still take part in the next Eurovision Junior, scheduled for Malta on 24 October. Israel is not participating in that competition. Spain will appear alongside the Netherlands. Ireland, which has also joined the boycott of the basic festival, will take part too.
The two contests are being treated differently. Spain is not leaving Eurovision-related events altogether: its proposed refusal concerns the basic festival and is tied specifically to Israel's participation. The Netherlands and Ireland have also joined the boycott. Without Spain and those two countries, Eurovision Junior would have had only 13 participating countries.
The October council vote will decide whether López's position becomes RTVE policy for a second straight year. If the council approves the proposal, Spain will miss two consecutive Eurovision contests. If it rejects it, participation could still be reconsidered.
