THE 2026 EUROVISION Song Contest was watched by 131 million viewers, organisers said Friday, down 35 million on the year before after Ireland and four other countries boycotted over Israel’s participation.
Bulgaria won the contest for the first time with Dara’s catchy floor-filler “Bangaranga” sweeping the 70th edition of the world’s biggest live televised music event, with Israel finishing in second place. The UK finished last.
RTÉ joined broadcasters in Spain, Slovenia, Iceland and the Netherlands in deciding not to send an act or air the contest in protest at Israel’s participation amid its war on Gaza.
The 2025 contest was watched by an average audience of 5.8 million people in Spain, and 3.5 million people in the Netherlands. In Ireland, RTÉ’s broadcast of last year’s contest garnered an average of 268,000 viewers.
This year’s Eurovision was held in Vienna, with the grand final taking place on 16 May.
Protests were held in Vienna over Israel’s participation, and chants of ‘stop of the genocide’ could be heard during Israel’s performance in the semi-final.
The contest is run by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the world’s biggest public-service media alliance.
“While some of our figures are naturally lower without those of our five members who chose not to participate this year, we remain committed to doing everything possible to find pathways back for them in 2027,” said Eurovision director Martin Green.
Big Nordic audiences
The biggest share of viewers watching Eurovision was recorded in Finland (93%), Sweden (86%), Norway (83%) and Denmark (79%).
Across the board in 35 measured TV markets, the grand final attracted an average viewing share of 42.6%.
The share for viewers aged 15 to 24 was higher, at 54.8%.
The EBU noted that viewing figures were down 3.8 million in Poland, 3.7 million in Britain and 3.3 million in France, compared to those for Eurovision 2025, held in the Swiss city of Basel.
Eurovision garnered more than a billion views for content on Instagram this year.
“It’s fantastic to see the impact the Eurovision Song Contest is having on young audiences globally,” said Green.
“The hundreds of millions reached via our digital platforms also underlines the Eurovision Song Contest’s 70-year evolution from a TV show to a true global, cultural, multi-platform phenomenon.”
People in 148 different countries and territories cast votes for their favourites.
Outside the 35 participating countries, the biggest votes were received from the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Ireland, Slovakia and Turkey. Continue Reading - https://www.thejournal.ie/eurovision-viewers-down-israel-7062161-Jun2026/
Imagine supporting genocide just to watch some musical acts. Does no one have principles anymore?
FTFY
Most people don’t give a shit about anything abstract or remote. There’s tons of users still on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Yeah people tend to create a bubble of their own and wilfully ignore controversies.
I could at least excuse 3% of it if they were fantastic, once in a lifetime performances. But we’re talking about mediocre at best here. How low have the principles fallen?
That’s so mean to say, the Eurovision entries are genuinely creative! Both music and performances. The winning Bulgarian song Bangaranga by DARA for example is about self-empowerment and defiance of a non-conforming society featuring visuals of literal masking and multiple genre changes in the music.
Other notable songs, in my opinion, are:
Every artist who makes it to Eurovision can be proud of themselves, it really is a great contest. Nonetheless I would also want the EBU to exclude Israel from participating. It’s hypocrisy to exclude Russia for starting a war but not Israel.
People are allowed to be mean and hold mean opinions of publicly shared artworks. I think the vast majority of works in Eurovision is soulless and entirely forgettable. The exceptions are so few and far between that it’s not worth it for me to watch the show.
You should be ashamed of yourself, as should every performer in it. Theres plenty of venues and opportunities to perform without soiling yourself with affiliating with an Israel propoganda event. Shame.
I took objection to a song promoting or normalising choking.
People eat billions of tons of meat every year purely for entertainment. Hope that answers your question.
I’m pretty sure it’s for sustenance
nope, we have plenty of calories without meat. It’s almost purely entertainment in contemporary world. Just look at your own fat and tell me genuinely you’re “sustaining yourself” with that steak.
We have this collective delusion to justify our cruelty over our addiction to entertainment. It’s incredibly sad.
Not for most people. Most people have access to plant based protein sources like beans, seeds, nuts and whole grains. Beans are cheaper than meat generally too. Plus they’re significantly healthier so there’s reduced healthcare needs. And way better for the environment. So yeah for most people it’s just for fun
Unless you’re talking about blowjobs, what you wrote makes no sense.
Put that sausage down unless you’re actually going to eat it bro.