Austria’s Eurovision winner Johannes Pietsch, known as JJ, has called for Israel to be banned from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest. In an interview with Spanish newspaper El País, as cited by Der Standard, the 24-year-old artist expressed disappointment that Israel was allowed to participate in this year’s contest.
JJ, who won Eurovision 2025 with his song Wasted Love, earning Austria its first victory in over a decade, said he hopes the 2026 contest in Vienna will proceed without Israel. He described Israel’s continued involvement as “very disappointing,” drawing a comparison between Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He pointed out that while Russia has been excluded from Eurovision since 2022, Israel remains in the competition.
The recent contest uses a combined voting system that includes both professional juries and public televoting. Israel ranked 15th with the jury votes but received the highest public televote score, which boosted it to second place overall. JJ described these results as “very strange.” Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE also questioned the legitimacy of the televote, suggesting geopolitical factors may have influenced public voting, and plans to file an official complaint with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
In response, ESC Director Martin Green said the EBU will hold “extensive discussions” with participating broadcasters and review feedback to guide the planning of the 2026 contest.
JJ’s call aligns with sentiments expressed by other artists, including last year’s winner Nemo and a group of 70 former Eurovision participants who signed an open letter demanding Israel’s exclusion. JJ acknowledged that artists can only comment on the issue but reiterated his hope that Israel will not participate when Austria hosts the next contest.
The EBU has not yet announced any changes to eligibility rules ahead of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
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