Iceland withdraws from Eurovision in protest against Israel

According to Reuters, Iceland’s public broadcaster (RÚV) announced that it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest. The announcement followed the EBU’s confirmation last week of Israel’s participation in the upcoming contest.

Stefán Eiriksson, Director General of RÚV, stated in a press release that given “the public debate in the country and reactions to the European Broadcasting Union’s decision, Iceland’s participation in the ‘festival of joy and peace’ would not be appropriate. Therefore, the public broadcaster will withdraw from Eurovision.”

Iceland was among the countries that requested a vote on Israel’s participation last week, but the EBU announced that no vote would be held and instead introduced new rules to prevent governmental influence over the contest.

Eurovision 2026 is scheduled to take place in May in Vienna. Previously, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia had also withdrawn from the contest in protest against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.