Four countries boycott Eurovision over Israel's inclusion
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.2 • 7.8K Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Eurovision Song Contest has been thrown into turmoil after four nations said they would boycott next year's event. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia had wanted Israel to be excluded because of the war in Gaza, but a meeting of the European Broadcasting Union said it could take part. Other countries, including Germany, had threatened to walk out if Israel could not participate. Also: A prominent Palestinian militia leader and Hamas opponent has been killed in Gaza. The US military says it conducted another deadly strike on a boat suspected of carrying illegal narcotics as questions mount over the legality of previous attacks. Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo sign a peace deal in Washington. A British inquiry has found that Vladimir Putin bears "moral responsibility" for the poisoning of a woman in England with the nerve agent Novichok in 2018. And how a volcanic eruption may have helped spread the Black Death in the 1300s.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.1 | I'm Celia Hatton and in the early hours of Friday the 5th of December, these are our main stories. |
| 0:17.3 | Several countries have pulled out of next year's Eurovision song contest |
| 0:21.2 | after it was confirmed that Israel could participate. |
| 0:24.8 | A prominent Palestinian militia leader and Hamas opponent |
| 0:28.2 | has been killed in Gaza. |
| 0:30.5 | Members of the U.S. Congress have reviewed classified video |
| 0:33.9 | of a strike on an alleged drug boat |
| 0:36.3 | which killed two shipwrecked men. |
| 0:41.4 | Also in this podcast, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo sign a peace deal in Washington |
| 0:48.0 | and... |
| 0:49.3 | There are estimates which suggest that there are about 200 people dying every hour globally because of these |
| 0:56.0 | type of infections. Why a hospital in Britain is telling people not to wash their hands? |
| 1:07.0 | We begin with the controversy around one of the world's biggest annual television events, the Eurovision Song Contest. |
| 1:14.7 | Four countries have pulled out of next year's competition after organizers decided that Israel will participate, |
| 1:21.9 | despite calls for it to be excluded because of the war in Gaza. |
| 1:26.0 | The boycotters are Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Spain, |
| 1:30.1 | which is one of the events top funders. Eurovision is a musical extravaganza known for its glitz and glam. |
| 1:37.6 | But increasingly, it's becoming deeply political. While the competition's slogan is united by music, the dispute over Israel's participation appears to be tearing it apart. |
| 1:49.6 | Here's Eurovision expert Dean Wulich. |
| 1:52.9 | It's a historic moment for the European Broadcasting Union. |
... |
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