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Iceland has announced that it will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, citing opposition to the decision allowing Israel to compete in the event. The announcement was made by Iceland’s public broadcaster RUV following last week’s ruling by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
The upcoming Eurovision contest is scheduled to take place in Vienna in May 2026, but Iceland’s withdrawal adds to a growing list of countries protesting Israel’s inclusion amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia have already declared they will not take part for similar reasons.
In a public statement, RUV Director General Stefan Eiriksson said that public sentiment in Iceland made participation untenable. He explained that widespread debate and criticism following the EBU’s decision left no prospect for unity or celebration around Iceland’s involvement in the contest.
Iceland had been among the broadcasters pushing for a formal vote on whether Israel should be allowed to compete. However, the EBU declined to hold such a vote, instead introducing revised rules aimed at limiting political pressure from national governments on the competition.
The Eurovision Song Contest, first held in 1956, is one of the world’s largest televised music events, drawing an estimated 160 million viewers globally. While Iceland has never won the competition, it achieved second-place finishes in 1999 and 2009, making its absence notable.
The decision underscores growing tensions within Eurovision as geopolitical conflicts increasingly influence participation, challenging the contest’s long-standing emphasis on cultural unity and political neutrality.
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