Eurovision director Martin Green says the EBU will take a tougher stance on political interference and voting campaigns following growing controversy surrounding Israel’s participation.
EBU promises stricter monitoring
Martin Green stated that the EBU will closely monitor political interference during this year’s contest and warned that disproportionate promotional campaigns would not be tolerated.
The comments follow scrutiny surrounding Israel’s strong televote performance in recent years, after investigations revealed that Israeli government-linked campaigns had encouraged viewers internationally to vote for the country’s Eurovision entries.
According to Green:
“We may not have been strict enough in recent years.”
All About Eurovision 2026
The journey to the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest kicked off immediately following JJ’s win in Basel, when Austria’s ORF accepted the rights to host the 70th edition of the contest. The bidding process started in June, with interested cities having until July 4 to submit their bid book. Innsbruck and Vienna were shortlisted, with the latter winning the right to host next year’s contest. 35 countries will take part in the competition, the lowest number of competing entries since 2004.
As for the organisation of the competition, the ‘core team‘ was revealed in June 2025, with further details about next year’s competition to be revealed in due course. The shows will take place on May 12th, 14th and 16th.
Are you excited for Eurovision 2026? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky as we start looking ahead to Eurovision 2026!
News Source: nos
Photo Source: Eurovision
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