Iceland Becomes Fifth Country To Boycott Eurovision 2026
Iceland’s national broadcaster RUV has confirmed it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
It is the fifth country to confirm that it will not participate in the singing competition as a result of Israel’s participation, joining the likes of Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Slovenia.
Stefan Eiriksson, director-general of broadcasting at RUV said: “There is no peace or joy connected to this contest as things stand now.
“On that basis, first and foremost, we are stepping back while the situation is as it is.”
Wednesday is the final day for members to confirm their participation for the 2026 contest with the full list of participating broadcasters to be published early next week.
Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest said: “We respect the decision of all broadcasters who have chosen not to participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest and hope to welcome them back soon.”
Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but Israel has continued to compete for the past couple of years despite disputes.
In September, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia threatened to withdraw unless Israel was excluded over the war in Gaza.
The boycott began earlier this month after members attended a European Broadcasting Union (EBU) general assembly in Geneva to vote on changes which included new rules to deter countries organising campaigns for their acts, following concerns around the number of public votes Israel received in 2025.
According to the BBC, which attended the summit, agreeing to the rule changes meant agreeing not to proceed with a vote on whether Israel could compete, with Swedish broadcaster SVT claiming that the vote was not specific to the participation of Israeli broadcaster KAN.
An SVT statement read: “All Nordic public service companies, NRK in Norway, YLE in Finland, DR in Denmark and RUV in Iceland voted yes to the proposals, which were supported by a majority of EBU members.”
Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received the largest number of votes from the public last May, ultimately finishing as runner-up after the jury votes were taken into account.
After the 2025 competition, Irish broadcaster RTE requested a breakdown in voting numbers from the EBU while Spain’s public broadcaster, Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), called for a “complete review” of the voting system to avoid “external interference”.
Following the summit, the BBC said it supported the “collective decision” in allowing Israel to participate at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest as other countries launched a boycott.
A BBC spokesperson said: “This is about enforcing the rules of the EBU and being inclusive.”
Irish national broadcaster RTE said it will not broadcast or take part in the song contest, describing its participation as “unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza”.
The RTE statement said: “RTE remains deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza during the conflict and the continued denial of access to international journalists to the territory.”
The 2026 contest will be held in Vienna in May after a narrow victory by Austria’s JJ, with Wasted Love beating Israeli singer Raphael, who was named runner-up after receiving the largest number of votes from the public.
Dutch broadcaster Avrotros also announced that it would not broadcast the competition, saying it would be “incompatible with the public values that are essential to us”.
Taco Zimmerman, chief executive, said: “Universal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated and are non-negotiable for us…
“We choose the core values of Avrotros and, as a public broadcaster, have the responsibility to remain true to these values, even when that is complicated or vulnerable.”
The Dutch public broadcasting organisation NPO will continue to ensure that next year’s Eurovision Song Contest will remain available for Dutch viewers and fans.
Slovenian broadcaster RTV said it was pulling out of the competition “on behalf of the 20,000 children who died in Gaza”.
In response to the decision to allow Israel to compete at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the country’s president Isaac Herzog wrote on X: “Israel deserves to be represented on every stage around the world, a cause to which I am fully and actively committed.”
The EBU confirmed that participating broadcasters will not have to pay more to take
Published: by Radio NewsHub