BBC ‘to decide’ on Eurovision involvement amidst mounting pressure on Israel participation

It comes after multiple national broadcasters threaten to pull out if Israel takes part

This comes after Ireland and the Netherlands said it would not compete if Israel took part.

Meanwhile, Belgium, Iceland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden said they would decide at a meeting between broadcasters in December about their involvement.

In a statement, the Dutch national broadcaster AVROTROS said: “Human suffering, the suppression of press freedom and political interference are at odds with the values of public broadcasting.

“AVROTROS can no longer justify Israel’s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza."

Now, the UK could be set to join that list, as BBC director-general Tim Davie revealed that the broadcaster is in the process of 'doing a review'.

He told The Media Show on BBC Radio 4:  "Well, what we're doing very specifically on Eurovision is the European Broadcasting Union hosts Eurovision, they are doing a review on what is the right position in terms of entries that come from broadcasters – what assurances do they need and who can compete, and we're going to let them do their work, and then make a decision."

As more and more European nations threatened to pull out of the contest earlier this week, Davie told the Commons Public Accounts Committee that the competition had "never been about politics", although maintained that the BBC was "very aware of the concerns".

The UK is considered one of the Big Five Eurovision nations due to its large financial contribution to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), guaranteeing it a spot in the final of the song contest.

The rest of the Big Five are made up of France, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Calls have been made by the leaders of the Scottish Greens, Green Party Northern Ireland, Wales Green Party and Green Party of England and Wales for the BBC to pull out of the contest if Israel takes part.

Phil Coulter, who co-wrote the UK's 1967 Eurovision song 'Puppet On A String' called out a "double standard", highlighting how Russia and Belarus had been booted from the competition.