Ireland Withdraws From Eurovision 2027 Over Gaza War

By Staff, Agencies

Ireland will stay out of the Eurovision Song Contest for a second consecutive year, with national broadcaster RTÉ announcing that it will neither participate in nor televise the 2027 competition, citing the continuing war on Gaza.

RTÉ said on Thursday that Ireland’s participation could not be justified given the ongoing loss of life and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which it said continues to place civilians at risk.

“RTÉ feels that Ireland's participation cannot be justified given the appalling and ongoing loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there,” the broadcaster said.

The Irish broadcaster also raised concerns over restrictions preventing independent international journalists from entering Gaza, saying the lack of independent media access was an additional factor in its decision.

Ireland withdrew from Eurovision 2026 after the participation of "Israel" in the contest was confirmed, joining Spain, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Netherlands in staying away from that year’s competition. RTÉ also declined to broadcast the event.

The Netherlands has already confirmed that it will not participate in Eurovision 2027. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said geopolitical conflicts were increasingly affecting the competition and argued that Eurovision could “no longer be considered neutral.”

The continued withdrawals are increasing pressure on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over its handling of "Israel’s" participation amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Ireland’s decision means the country will remain absent from Eurovision in 2027, while also withholding its domestic broadcast of the competition.