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The organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest<\/a> have postponed a vote on whether Israel should be allowed to perform in next year\u2019s competition.<\/p>\n The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said that \u201crecent developments in the Middle East\u201d have caused it to cancel a virtual meeting to vote on the matter, which was due to take place in November.<\/p>\n It said Israel\u2019s participation would instead be discussed at an in-person meeting in December, though it did not make clear whether a vote would still take place.<\/p>\n It comes after all 20 living Israeli hostages were freed by Hamas in exchange for the return of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails on Monday (October 13), following a ceasefire coming into force on Friday (October 10).<\/p>\n In a statement, the EBU said: \u201cIn the light of recent developments in the Middle East, the EBU\u2019s executive board (meeting on October 13) agreed there was a clear need to organise an open and in-person discussion among its members on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cConsequently, the board agreed to put the issue on the agenda of its ordinary winter general assembly, which will be taking place in December, rather than organising an extraordinary session in advance,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n The EBU announced last month it would invite 68 member countries to give their view on whether Israel should take part, at a general assembly meeting in November.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s participation in Eurovision has faced opposition from some other participating countries due to the war in Gaza, including Spain, which became the first of the \u2018big five\u2019 to threaten their absence back in September<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n