AP
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Eurovision Song Contest organizers say member international locations will vote in November about which international locations can take part in the musical extravaganza subsequent 12 months, as calls have mounted for Israel to be excluded over the war in Gaza.
Spokesman Dave Goodman stated in an electronic mail Friday that the board of the European Broadcasting Union, which brings collectively public broadcasters, has despatched a letter to members indicating that the vote will happen at a unprecedented normal assembly held on-line in early November.
Countries together with Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain have threatened not to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest until Israel is excluded from the competitors over the warfare in Gaza.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will happen in May in Vienna: The honor of internet hosting is granted to the winner of the earlier 12 months. The winner this 12 months in Basel, Switzerland, was Austria’s JJ for the music “Wasted Love”.
Eurovision is a contest in which performers from international locations throughout Europe, and some past it, compete beneath their nationwide flags with the purpose of being topped continental champion — a form of Olympics of pop music.
It’s additionally a spot the place politics and regional rivalries play out. Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.