Iceland will not participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. This was announced this afternoon following a meeting of the board of RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service.
Iceland joins Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in boycotting the 2026 edition, which will take place in Vienna, Austria.
The last day to confirm participation in the competition was today. Stefán Jón Hafstein, chairman of the politically appointed RÚV board, had put forward a motion for Iceland to boycott the competition if Israel were allowed to participate.
"With the current public discourse in Iceland and the reaction to EBU's [the European Broadcasting Union] decision last week [to clear Israel for participation, it is clear that there will be no joy or peace in RÚV participating in the Eurovision Song Contest," a statement from RÚV read. "It is therefore RÚV's decision to inform EBU today that RÚV will not be participating in the contest next year."
A group of protesters gathered outside RÚV before the meeting, holding Palestine flags. Among them were previous participants in the Eurovision Song Contest, including singer Páll Óskar, an outspoken critic of Israel's genocide in Palestine. Since Israel's attacks on Gaza began in full force at the end of 2023, public demands have been made to ban Israel from participating, in the same way that Russia has been excluded since its Ukraine invasion began in 2022.
Minister of Culture, Innovation, and Higher Education Logi Einarsson had previously said that he favoured Iceland boycotting the contest in light of Israel's participation.
It has not been decided whether Söngvakeppnin, the preliminary round to choose a contestant on behalf of Iceland, will take place.
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