Spanish public broadcaster demands peace, justice for Palestine during Eurovision 2026

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE issued a message Saturday urging peace and justice for Palestine at the same time the Eurovision 2026 competition began.

It was after RTVE decided not to take part in this year’s contest in protest due to Israel’s participation.

RTVE said it released the message to protest the European Broadcasting Union’s decision not to exclude Israel from Eurovision despite the situation in the Gaza Strip.

As the Eurovision Song Contest began, RTVE briefly blacked out its screen and displayed a message in Spanish and English saying Eurovision is a competition, but human rights are not, and called for peace and justice for Palestine.

The broadcaster, which did not air this year’s contest live, also repeated the message on social media ahead of the final. It said it wanted to remind viewers of its decision not to participate in this year’s Eurovision.

RTVE had also shown a similar message during Eurovision 2025, stating that silence is not an option when human rights are at stake and called for peace and justice for Palestine.