Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 10, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
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Iceland will boycott Eurovision 2026 in protest of Israel's participation, joining Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia. The EBU has introduced new rules to limit government influence.
COPENHAGEN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Iceland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the country's public broadcaster RUV said on Wednesday, after organiser the European Broadcasting Union last week cleared Israel's participation.
The decision to allow Israel to take part in the next Eurovision, which will be held in Vienna in May, earlier prompted Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia to withdraw in protest, citing Israel's conduct in the Gaza war.
"It is clear from the public debate in this country and the reaction to the EBU's decision last week that there will be neither joy nor peace regarding RUV's participation," the broadcaster's Director General Stefan Eiriksson said in a statement.
Iceland was among the countries that had requested a vote last week on Israel's participation. But the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, decided not to call a vote on Israel's participation, saying it had instead passed new rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the contest.
Iceland has never won the song contest but came second in 1999 and 2009. The Eurovision Song Contest dates back to 1956 and reaches around 160 million viewers, according to the EBU.
(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Essi Lehto in Helsinki, editing by Terje Solsvik)
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition held among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union, featuring original songs performed by artists representing their countries.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is an alliance of public service media organizations, which organizes events like the Eurovision Song Contest and promotes cooperation among its members.
A boycott is a form of protest in which individuals or groups refuse to engage with or support an organization, country, or event to express disapproval or to bring about change.
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