Eurovision Song Contest organisers announced rule changes Wednesday excluding any country in an armed conflict from hosting the competition and increasing the mininum age of competitors.
While they did not mention any country by name, Israel, which has been at war in Gaza since 2023, came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion.
Under the old rules, the winning country normally hosts the following year's competition.
Under the new rules, "the winning broadcaster will automatically be ineligible to host the contest if an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region", they said in a statement.
In a first, five countries -- Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland -- boycotted the 2026 edition in Vienna over Israel's participation.
