German Chancellor Friedrich Merz attends celebrations of the newly completed renovation of Reichenbach Strasse synagogue in Munich, Germany, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Angelika Warmuth

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that Germany should withdraw its participation in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) if Israel is banned from the international competition.

Merz made the comments during an interview on the public broadcaster ARD when he was asked whether Germany should voluntarily pull out of the Eurovision next year if Israel is excluded.

“I would support that. I think it’s a scandal that this is even being discussed. Israel belongs there,” he replied, according to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).

Merz’s remarks come after Germany’s Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer last month criticized those threatening to withdraw from the 2026 Eurovision contest if Israel participates. Weimer said in part that “the culture of cancellation is not the solution — the solution is diversity and cohesion.”

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the ESC, is scheduled to hold an online vote in November of all its member broadcasters to decide if the Israeli public broadcaster KAN should be allowed to participate in the 2026 Eurovision, in light of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Kan said in a released statement that it hopes the EBU “will continue to maintain the apolitical, professional, and cultural nature of the competition.”

Next year’s Eurovision is set to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May. KAN recently announced that the singer who will represent Israel in the 2026 Eurovision will be selected again this year through the reality show “The Next Star,” which is set to air in Israel in the coming weeks. Yuval Raphael represented Israel in this year’s Eurovision competition and came in second place with her song “New Day Will Rise.”

Organizers of the ESC have been facing growing pressure to bar Israel from the competition, and broadcasters from several countries – including in Spain, Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, and the Netherlands – have threatened to withdraw from the Eurovision if Israel is not banned. Senior officials in Austria have criticized efforts to ban Israel from the competition and the Danish public broadcaster DR also said it does not support a boycott of the Jewish state from the competition “as long as they comply with the rules and regulations.”

Poland’s culture minister said she hopes her country will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision if Israel is allowed to partake in the song contest.