Members of the European Broadcast Union (EBU) are set to vote on whether Israel can remain a contestant in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

There have been growing calls for the country to be banned from the annual songwriting contest given its ongoing military action in Gaza, and several countries have threatened to boycott next year’s event if Israel remains.

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Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands have suggested they’ll put out of the 2026 event in Vienna, Austria.

Israel was the runner up at this year’s contest, but lost out to JJ from Austria. Yuval Raphael who represented Israel at this year’s event is a survivor of the October 7 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel.

The country has participated in the competition 47 times since first making their debut in 1973. They’ve also won the event four times, and hosted on three occasions. Eurovision was held in Jerusalem in 1979 and 1999, and Tel Aviv in 2019.

Notably Dana International won the competition in 1998, the first transgender artist to raise the trophy.

Members of the EBU will come together in December to decide if the country can remain in the competition. Currently Russia is banned from participating due to their invasion of Ukraine.

The vote will involve all 68 countries who are members of the EBU, several of whom to do not participate in Eurovision. Tunisia, Turkiye, Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon are some of the nation’s that will be able to vote despite not being part of the current Eurovision family.

Australian broadcaster SBS has already indicated they would not consider pulling out of the 2026 event, and as an associate member of the EBU will likely not get a say in the vote this December.

A spokesperson told industry website TV Tonight that they looked forward to taking part in next year’s competition.

“SBS has been broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest for over 40 years, sharing this global celebration of diversity and inclusion with all Australians.

“SBS intends to continue this tradition with its participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

“The decision regarding Israel’s participation in Eurovision will be made by the EBU over the coming months.” a spokesperson said earlier this month.

It is estimated that at least 65,500 people, including many children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s military action began in October 2023. The action began an attack led by terrorist group Hamas on October 7 saw 1,195 people killed including Israelis and foreign citizens.