Spain’s boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s war on Gaza puts it “on the right side of history”, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said ahead of the final in Austria.

“In the face of illegal war and also genocide, silence is not an option. And we cannot remain indifferent to what continues to happen in Gaza and in Lebanon,” Sanchez says in a video message posted on X.

“This year, therefore, will indeed be different. We will not be in Vienna, but we will do so with the conviction that we are on the right side of history.”