The Belgian-Walloon national broadcaster RTBF confirmed it will decide in December on its Eurovision 2026 participation, following the vote on Israel’s eligibility.
The Belgian-Walloon national broadcaster RTBF, responsible this year for selecting Belgium’s Eurovision act, announced it will formally decide in December whether to participate in Eurovision 2026, following the vote on Israel’s eligibility.
Israel at the Center: Will Belgium Withdraw?
For now, the Belgian-Walloon national broadcaster aligns itself with Spain and Iceland, though not as firmly as Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. The broadcaster is postponing its official decision on participation until after December’s discussion.
In contrast, the Belgian-Flemish national broadcaster VRT, which selected last year’s Belgian act, has already declared its support for Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. In a statement, the channel even threatened to boycott the broadcast of this year’s contest if
“The message issued by the European Broadcasting Union is not strong enough”.
VRT is regarded as one of the most anti-Israeli broadcasters in Europe, often providing coverage of Israel that is overwhelmingly negative and overtly biased in favor of the Palestinians.
Last year, VRT aired a pro-Palestinian campaign immediately before the Eurovision broadcast, an action that in itself violates the contest’s regulations. Needless to say, Belgium, often presenting itself as a “champion of human rights”, faced no sanctions for the breach.
Belgium at Eurovision 2025:
“Strobe Lights” is the name of the song performed by Red Sebastian, who represented Belgium in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Belgium did not qualify for the grand final, finishing 14th out of 15 with only 23 points.
This marks the second consecutive year that Belgium has failed to reach the final. In the past ten years, Belgium has qualified for the final only five times.
Eurovision 2025: This was Belgium’s 66th participation in the contest. Belgium joined Eurovision in 1956 as one of its seven founding nations. The country’s best result came in 1986, when Sandra Kim won first place with “J’aime la vie”.
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Ilay Gaist is a leading Israeli content creator and writer specializing in the Eurovision Song Contest. He is a well-known commentator with extensive expertise in the contest’s history, rules, and dynamics. His passion for Eurovision drives him to deliver rich, professional, and innovative content to his audience.
Ilay holds a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and has a multilingual background. He also engages in cultural research, with a particular focus on global culinary traditions and the evolution of local cuisines around the world.
