RTÉ will show an episode of the comedy Father Ted in place of the final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
On Saturday night, RTÉ2 will air the sitcom’s Eurovision-themed episode A Song For Europe, where priests Ted and Dougal perform My Lovely Horse, as part of its boycott of the contest over Israel’s participation.
Ireland, Spain and Slovenia have not sent competitors to the 70th iteration of the competition in protest at Israel’s war in Gaza and will not broadcast the final.
The Netherlands and Iceland are also not sending acts to compete in Eurovision, but will air the final.
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Russia was banned from Eurovision after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but Israel has continued to compete.
The Hamas-run health ministry estimates that 72,300 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023.
The boycott came about after members attended a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) general assembly in Geneva to vote on changes, which included new rules to deter countries from organising campaigns for their acts following concerns around the number of public votes Israel received in 2025.
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received the largest number of votes from the public last May, ultimately finishing as runner-up after the jury votes were taken into account.
After the 2025 competition, RTÉ requested a breakdown in voting numbers from the EBU while Spain’s public broadcaster, Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), called for a “complete review” of the voting system to avoid “external interference”.
The Slovenian broadcaster will air a series of documentaries on the Middle East under the theme Voices of Palestine to replace Eurovision programming.
Ireland has won the Eurovision Song Contest seven times – a joint record with Sweden – with Eimear Quinn in 1996, the last Irish winner with her song The Voice. – PA
