Norway’s TV 2 questions voting on Israel’s Eurovision exclusion, raising uncertainty over participation and possible impact on final results
Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 is considering whether to participate in the vote on Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2026, spokesperson Jan-Petter Dahl confirmed. The hesitation stems from the fact that the channel is an active EBU member but does not hold Eurovision broadcasting rights, which in Norway belong exclusively to the competing broadcaster NRK. “We will wait for the invitation before considering whether it is natural for us to participate,” said Dahl.
Who Will Participate in the Vote?
The vote on Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2026 has been postponed to mid-November. Since the EBU has not yet sent an official invitation to any national broadcaster – only announcing it will take place in a “special online session” of the General Assembly – it remains unclear which broadcasters will vote, what majority will be required, and how each will choose to cast their ballot.
TV 2’s statement raises doubts about the participation of other broadcasters. Under EBU regulations, each country has 24 votes. In countries with multiple EBU-affiliated broadcasters, as in Norway, the 24 votes are split among them.
This raises the question of whether broadcasters that do not air Eurovision but are members of the union will choose to abstain from the vote, as TV 2 is considering. If voting is ultimately limited to broadcasters airing the contest, Arab countries – many of which oppose Israel’s participation – would be unable to support its exclusion.
Norwegian Broadcaster’s Surprising Announcement
In early September, NRK announced it would not join the boycott against Israel. The announcement surprised many fans, as Norway is widely perceived by Israelis as one of the more hostile countries toward Israel in Eurovision. Former Norwegian Head of Delegation Stig Karlsen had previously spoken out strongly against Israel’s participation.
Nevertheless, NRK explained: “If we initiate a cultural boycott of another participant, we will lose credibility as an independent news provider”. The broadcaster elaborated on the distinction between the Russian and Israeli cases: “When Russia’s public broadcaster was excluded from Eurovision following the invasion of Ukraine, it was partly due to its failure to meet EBU membership criteria”.
So who will represent Norway in the vote, and how will they cast their ballots? We will have to wait patiently until November to find out.
Israel at Eurovision 2025
“New Day Will Rise” is the song performed by Yuval Raphael, who was chosen to represent Israel after winning the 11th season of “HaKokhav HaBa”. Israel advanced to the final after winning the second semi-final with 203 points and finished second overall with 357 points in the grand final. Israel ranked first in the public vote but only 14th with the jury. This marks the third consecutive year that Israel has reached the top five—an unprecedented achievement.
Eurovision 2026: This will be Israel’s 48th participation in Eurovision. Israel joined the contest in 1973 and has won four times. Its most recent victory was at Eurovision 2018 with the song “Toy”, performed by singer Netta Barzilai.
