Slovenia will not compete in Eurovision 2026 if Israel remain in the competiton.
This should be a no-brainer for the EBU.
Israel is a state that is commiting genocide as we speak.
In 2024, Israel's delegation openly harassed other artists and remained whilst they disqualified Joost Klein for reacting to a journalist overstepping his pre-agreed limits.
In 2024, their commentators badmouthed other artists on air, breaking the EBU's rules, and were racist to Israeli-Armenians in the 2025 broadcast.
In both 2024 and 2025, their televote results were inflated by voting campaigns and external interference for political gain, manipulating Eurovision's rules and using government bodies to fund advertising campaigns.
The fact that Israel, a genocidal state that has proved it only cares about the contest for propaganda reasons, remains in Eurovision is fucking abhorrent, and the EBU potentially risking the participation of other countries to keep them in the competition is morally reprihensible and a betrayal of the standards they claim to represent.
EBU, don't kill this competition.
Take it out of disrepute.
📝 ENG Translation: Former Slovenian Eurovision representatives support Slovenia’s withdrawal
+ video with Bojan's cut
An article written by Anastasija Jović and Alen Podlesnik for 24ur, originally published on 05.12.2025
English translation by X coffeebiscuitxx, review by IG fabriconmyhead, proofread by IG Gboleyn123.
Article + video below the cut! 👇
Former Slovenian Eurovision representatives support Slovenia’s withdrawal
(video down below)
The EBU has decided that Israel remains a part of Eurovision, and Slovenia will not take part in the competition next year. Our former representatives Klemen Slakonja, Raiven, Bojan Cvjetićanin, and also Magnifico, who penned the Eurovision hit performed by Sestre, spoke about how this decision will affect Slovenian artists. At the same time, they support Slovenia’s withdrawal from the contest.
After months of speculation, it became clear on Thursday that Israel will remain part of the Eurovision Song Contest, which has prompted boycotts by several countries, including Slovenia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Ireland. How do musicians view this decision?
“I strongly support RTV’s decision that Slovenia will not be part of Eurovision, and I feel that if a country that is actively committing genocide at this moment can be part of this event, then we have no place there”, Bojan Cvjetićanin, the lead singer of Joker Out, told us.
“When countries that are in any way involved in war are present, an already political event becomes even more political”, says singer Klemen Slakonja.
Next year, the Slovenian delegation will therefore not take part in the contest in Vienna, and the broadcaster will not air it. A blow to the tradition and viewers, as well as the artists?
“It’s a huge loss for the Slovenian pop music scene and for performers that we no longer have this one stage where we could truly showcase ourselves through our music”, says singer Raiven.
“It is a loss, in my opinion, until new productions are created through local competitions”, Magnifico told us.
“Slovenia as a brand doesn’t have a very high position at Eurovision to begin with, and by not taking part for a year or maybe even several years, our quotas will only keep dropping”, Slakonja adds.
What does the decision mean for a competition that has united Europe for decades? Immediately after the decision, there was indeed talk that this is the end of Eurovision as we know it.
“Everyone will miss something. Even though we say Eurovision gets on our nerves, we’ll miss grumbling about it”, Slakonja says.
“I hope the festival manages to escape the clutches of this, because it doesn’t deserve to end like this”, Cvjetićanin adds.
