Israel to compete at Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, prompting several nations to withdraw

While Eurovision usually avoids politics, Russia was expelled from the contest following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and critics have argued that Israel should also be banned over its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza, which has left over 70,000 people dead, per the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel has defended its campaign as a response to the deadly attack by militants on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead.

https://www.newsweek.com/eurovision-2026-countries-boycotting-israel-ireland-spain-withdraw-11158483

The money to run EV comes from the voters (paying per sms etc), as well as tv advertising. So in this situation it seems likely that many individuals will also choose to boycott it, choosing not to watch and not to vote. That might lead to a financial penalty for EBU, but at the same time this will distort even further the 'results' of what what may be considered one of the largest (albeit very biased) global experiments in democracy, especially for teenagers. Maybe an alternative can emerge ?