Structures representing RTP workers contest Portugal’s decision to remain in the Eurovision Song Contest, in which Israel will be participating, and consider that RTP should review its position and not participate in the next edition.
The position taken by several workers’ representative structures, to which Lusa had access, was read on Friday at the RTP workers’ plenary convened in connection with the general strike on the 11th.
There, it is condemned “the EBU’s decision [União Europeia de Radiodifusão] to keep Israel in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, despite continued military actions in Gaza and serious human rights violations widely denounced by the international community”.
RTP workers consider that “keeping KAN [a televisão pública israelita] in the contest contributes to the legitimization and normalization of a State accused of war crimes” and say it is “incomprehensible that RTP confirmed Portugal’s participation and supported the approval of the new rules that, in practice, keep Israel — and KAN — in the competition”.
The motion asks the administration to review its position, considering that the public radio and television company must assert itself, “without ambiguity, as a public service committed to ethics, coherence and human rights”.
“RTP workers urge the Board of Directors to urgently re-evaluate its position and publicly speaking out against Israel’s participation in 2026″, reads the position statement, which will be sent to the RTP administration, led by Nicolau Santos.
This position was made public in Friday’s RTP workers’ plenary and is signed by lists A and B that ran for the Workers’ Commission, by the Port Workers’ Subcommittee and by several unions (Journalists’ Union, Telecommunications Workers’ Union, National Union of Telecommunications and Audiovisual Workers, Audiovisual Media Union, Independent Union of Information Workers and Communications).
At the EBU general assembly on Thursday it was decided that Israel will be able to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. Then, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia announced their boycott of the festival.
Musician Salvador Sobral, winner of Eurovision in 2017, criticized RTP’s decision this Friday to participate in the next edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, having stated that he found out about this during the ‘Juntos por Gaza’ concert, in Lisbon, in which he participated and which will be broadcast on RTP.
“RTP, the State channel, decided to participate in Eurovision even with the participation of Israel. That expression giving a nail and another horseshoe has never made as much sense as last night. National television broadcasts a concert in Gaza and at the same time is afraid of doing the right thing”said the musician in a video shared on Friday on the social network Instagram.
For Salvador Sobra, this is an example of “political cowardice, (…) consistent with the institutional cowardice of public institutions”. “It makes me sad because it is a simply human issue and the decision that has to be made is obvious”he added.
According to Salvador Sobral, RTP should maintain the Festival da Canção, but the winner would not go to Eurovision and would be awarded in another way.
The Eurovision Song Contest is organized by the UER, founded in 1950, in cooperation with public operators from more than 35 countries, including Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May 2026, in Vienna (Austria).