Instead, it's descended into pure clusterfuck, with organizers' insistence that Israel remain in the competition causing the biggest walkout since 1970. Indeed, the 2026 event will be missing five countries with Iceland, the Netherlands, and Slovenia joining one of the big five (Spain) and the joint most-decorated winners (Ireland) on the boycott list. Thirty-five nations, however, are committing to all the madness, including previous absentees Moldova, Bulgaria, and Romania, across the usual two semis (May 12 and 14) and grand final (May 16) staged at Vienna's Wiener Stadthalle.