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Denmark’s National Broadcaster: We Will Not Vote to Ban Israel From 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
Israel’s representative to the Eurovision Song Contest, Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the deadly Oct. 7 2023, attack by Hamas on the Nova festival in Israel’s south, holds an Israeli flag in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 23, 2025. Photo: “The Rising Star,” Channel Keshet 12/Handout via REUTERS
Denmark’s national broadcaster DR said on Tuesday it will not vote against Israel when the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) holds a special vote in November to decide if the Jewish state should be excluded from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
“DR supports the ESC as a cultural European event that has brought nations together through music since 1956. As such, we will not vote for any EBU member to be expelled from the competition, as long as they comply with the rules and regulations,” Gustav Lützhøft – head of culture, debate, and music at DR – said in a released statement. He added that DR’s participation in the Eurovision next year “remains conditional on there being a strong international community, control over security, and an apolitical framework around the competition.”
The EBU, which organizes the Eurovision, announced last week that the EBU’s General Assembly will hold an “extraordinary meeting” online in early November during which its members will vote on whether the Israeli public broadcaster KAN will be allowed to participate in the 2026 Eurovision held in Vienna, Austria. Kan released a statement in response to the EBU’s announcement, saying that it hopes the Eurovision “will continue to maintain its cultural and political character.”
“The removal of Israel’s public broadcasting body – one of the veteran, popular, and successful competitors throughout the decades of the competition – and especially on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Eurovision, which stood as a symbol of cooperation, kindness, and brotherhood, could be a step with significant consequences,” KAN added. “We are convinced that the European Broadcasting Union will continue to maintain the apolitical, professional, and cultural nature of the competition, especially on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Eurovision.”
Lützhøft previously stated that Denmark does not plan on withdrawing from the 2026 Eurovision if Israel participates. Meanwhile, several other countries have threatened to pull out of the competition if Israel is not banned, including Spain, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Iceland, and Ireland.
Austria, the host country of the 2026 competition, has not publicly commented on demands to ban Israel from the Eurovision, but Austrian singer JJ, who won this year’s Eurovision, has also called for Israel’s exclusion from next year’s contest.
The 2026 Eurovision will take place in Vienna on May 16, with the semifinals airing on May 12 and 14. KAN announced on Monday that the singer who will represent Israel in the 2026 Eurovision will be selected again this year through the reality show “The Next Star,” which is set to air in Israel in the coming weeks.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet radio on Monday that it is important for Israel to participate in the 2026 Eurovision competition. “I have seen dangerous processes that begin with Eurovision and end in other places,” Herzog said. “The delegitimization of Israel and the attempt to exclude us from every possible arena are moves designed to weaken us. It starts with Eurovision but reaches matters that are vital to us. Every arena is important.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.