Slovenian broadcaster RTVSLO has announced that its participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 remains uncertain, and it will not take part if Israel is allowed to compete.
Slovenia’s participation depends on Israel’s participation
The RTV Slovenia Communications Department informed :
The final decision on RTV Slovenia’s participation in Eurovision 2026 will be made no later than the adoption of the annual plan (PPN for 2026). By this time, it should be clear whether the EBU will make any decision regarding Israel’s participation and whether it will take into account the comments of several EBU member states regarding the transparency of voting. At that time, it will be clear whether RTV still wants to participate in this competition.”
They added:
“At the EBU General Assembly, which was held in London at the beginning of July, RTV Slovenia presented its position that if Israel were to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest – due to the genocide in Gaza – it would not participate in the competition. RTV Slovenia believes that the Eurovision Song Contest is not only attended by public media services, such as Israel’s KAN, which has problems with the ruling politics in the country, but also by the countries themselves. For example, Belgium and Germany do not each have two representatives – one for each public service (RTBF and VRT or ZDF and ARD) – but rather one common representative of the country from which the performers come. The EBU is currently holding talks with its members regarding Israel’s possible participation in the future competition.”
About EBU cooperation
Ksenija Horvat, director of Television Slovenia, spoke about Slovenia’s participation in Eurovision at the 23rd regular session of RTV Slovenia. She said:
“We realistically think that we won’t be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest”
She continued:
“In the PPN (program and business plan, note a.) we announced a new entertainment show for the second half of the year, the basis of which was the selection of the Eurovision song in 2026. We were creating a concept for the show that would build on the selection of young, new, fresh performers from the beginning of October, which would lead us to the final selection for the Eurovision song, or EME, which would then represent us at the Eurovision song contest.”
She also added:
“As you know, a lot has happened in the meantime, since April, there have been quite a few of our calls to the European Broadcasting Union to talk more with us, smaller television stations, about what rules it has for participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, we sent some very specific questions and proposals. Last year we were more or less ignored, this year it’s actually the same. We realistically think that we won’t be able to go to the Eurovision Song Contest. We have also spoken about this publicly, if we can’t agree on an appropriate system of cooperation, then we won’t be there.”
Unless the EBU acts on these issues by mid-December, Slovenia may opt out of Eurovision 2026 entirely.
Slovenia’s Eurovision Journey
In 1993, Slovenia made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest with 1X Band and the song “Tih deževen dan”, which placed 22nd. Since their debut, they have participated 28 times, of which 16 were where they qualified for the Grand Final.
Slovenia’s recent Eurovision participation saw them being represented by Klemen, who sang “How Much Time Do We Have Left”. Performing at the first semi-final, Klemen failed to qualify, placing thirteenth with 23 points from the televote.
What the EBU is going to do? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
Source: rtvslo.si
Photo Credit: Alma Bengtsson / EBU
Rory Gannon 
Michelle