Iceland has joined Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands in announcing its boycott of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. The five nations withdrew after Israel's participation in the competition was officially confirmed last week. Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV's Director-General, Stefan Eiriksson, stated: "There is no peace or joy associated with this contest as it stands now. On that basis, we are stepping back while the situation remains as it is." RÚV further explained that Israel's participation had "created disunity among both members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the general public."
The decision was made by the RÚV board at a meeting on Wednesday, just hours before the deadline for countries to confirm their participation in the 70th anniversary edition of the song contest next May. Iceland was believed to be the last remaining country to announce its decision.
Eurovision director Martin Green expressed respect for the decision of all broadcasters who chose not to participate in next year's contest and hoped to welcome them back soon. Israel's presence at Eurovision has been a source of tension due to the war in Gaza and concerns about the voting and campaigning processes, including accusations that Israel's government tried to influence the public vote at this year's event.
A new set of measures designed to protect the integrity of the vote was approved at an EBU summit last week, after which most countries confirmed their travel to Vienna for the 2026 contest. However, the Icelandic broadcaster's board had previously approved a recommendation to ask the EBU to ban Israel from Eurovision 2026. Iceland was reportedly among seven countries that then requested a vote on Israel's participation at the EBU general meeting. That request was denied, and Israel's future participation was instead tied to a ballot on the new voting and campaigning rules.
The Icelandic broadcaster stated that while the new measures addressed many of its concerns, it "believes that there are still doubts whether the agreed adjustments would be fully satisfactory." RÚV had repeatedly raised concerns that various Icelandic stakeholders, such as artist associations and the general public, were opposed to participation in the contest. Furthermore, RÚV had requested the EBU to exclude KAN, Israel's public broadcaster, from the contest in accordance with precedents.
In a transcript of Thursday's meeting supplied by KAN, the broadcaster's CEO Golan Yochpaz criticized those trying to get Israel thrown out. "The attempt to remove KAN from the contest can only be understood as a cultural boycott," he said. "A boycott may begin today with Israel, but no one knows where it will end or who else it may harm."
Is this what we truly want this contest to be remembered for on its 70th anniversary? Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973 because KAN, its public broadcaster, is a member of the EBU, which organizes the competition. Israel has won four times, most recently in 2018, and came second in the 2025 contest. Iceland has never won but came second in 1999 and 2009. Meanwhile, Poland confirmed on Wednesday that it will take part in next year's contest, believing that Eurovision still has a chance to become a space filled with music - and only music.
