Eurovision Suffers Another UK Ratings Blow After A Year Of Controversy

3 weeks ago 3

Look Mum No Computer performing in Vienna last week

With the controversy surrounding Eurovision showing no signs of dying down, and calls for a boycott of the contest due to Israel’s involvement only growing louder, the contest suffered another dip in viewing figures in the UK this year.

On Sunday morning, it was widely reported that the BBC’s broadcast of the Eurovision final had dropped around one and a half million viewers year-on-year, with 5.2 million Brits tuning in to watch live compared to 2025’s 6.7 million.

In fact, it was the lowest-watched final in more than 15 years, since 2010, according to the fansite Eurovoix.

Eurovision viewership has continued to drop in the UK every year since 2024, when the calls for a boycott of a contest first became exacerbated due to Israel’s continued participation.

Noam Bettan represented Israel at Eurovision 2026

HuffPost UK has contacted the BBC for comment.

Towards the end of last year, a vote took place among Eurovision’s competing national broadcasters to determine whether Israel should remain part of the competition in 2026.

When it was ultimately decided that Israel would be invited back this year, five countries’ national broadcasters announced they’d be withdrawing in solidarity with Palestine.

Among these were Ireland, who holds the joint record for most wins at Eurovision, and Spain, who’d previously been part of the “Big Five” countries who contribute the most financially to the contest each year, and therefore don’t need to compete in the semi-final stages.

For the second year in a row, Israel finished as the runner up of the contest on Saturday night, while Bulgaria’s Dara lifted the coveted Eurovision trophy.

This marked Bulgaria’s return to the contest after a five-year absence, and the first ever win for the country, as well as the first time the Eurovision jury and televote had chosen the same winner since 2017.

Meanwhile, the UK finished at the bottom of the leaderboard, with Look Mum No Computer becoming the country’s third representative in a row to score zero points in the televote.