35 countries will compete in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after 5 countries announce boycott

GENEVA AP Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday broadcasted a final list of countries that will take part in the glitzy pop-music gala next year after five countries explained they would boycott due to discord over Israel s participation Contest organizers communicated the list for the finale set to be held in Vienna in May after five participants Iceland Ireland the Netherlands Slovenia and Spain earlier this month revealed plans to sit it out A total of countries took part this year when Austria s JJ won Three countries Bulgaria Moldova and Romania will return after skipping the event for artistic or financial reasons in up-to-date years The walkout by particular of the contest s majority stalwart and high-profile participants Ireland shared the record of wins with Sweden put political discord on center stage and has overshadowed the joyful feel-good nature of the event Last week the winner non-binary singer Nemo of Switzerland who won with the pop-operatic ode The Code communicated plans to return the winner s trophy because Israel is being allowed to compete Organizers this month decided to allow Israel to compete despite protests about its conduct of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and charges that Israel manipulated the vote in favor of its contestants The European Broadcasting Union a group of general broadcasters from countries that runs the glitzy annual event had sought to dispel concerns about vote-rigging but the reforms informed weren t enough to satisfy the holdouts The musical extravaganza draws more than million viewers every year one of the world s most-watched programs but has been roiled by the war in Gaza for the past two years stirring protests outside the venues and forcing organizers to clamp down on political flag-waving Experts say the boycott ahead of the event s th anniversary amounts to one of the biggest crises the contest has faced at a time when multiple community broadcasters face funding pressures and social media has lured away a few eyeballs Israeli bureaucrats have hailed the decision by most of EBU member broadcasters who supported its right to participate and warned of a threat to freedom of expression by embroiling musicians in a political issue Source