Reykjavik, December 10, 2025 – Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV confirmed on Wednesday that it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, joining Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands in a growing boycott over the European Broadcasting Union’s decision to allow Israel to compete.
In a statement released after an emergency board meeting, RÚV said:
“Given the public debate in this country and the reactions to the decision of the EBU that was taken last week, it is clear that neither joy nor peace will prevail regarding the participation of RÚV in Eurovision. It is therefore the conclusion of RÚV to notify the EBU today that RÚV will not take part in Eurovision next year.
Protesters rally in Basel against Israel's Eurovision participation
The Song Contest and Eurovision have always had the aim of uniting the Icelandic nation, but it is now clear that this aim cannot be achieved and it is on these programme-related grounds that this decision is taken.”
Outside RÚV’s headquarters in Reykjavik, dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators held a peaceful “solidarity gathering” with Palestinian flags and banners reading “No Song on Occupied Land” and “Eurovision Without Apartheid.”
Iceland’s withdrawal follows identical announcements in recent days from four other public broadcasters:
- Ireland’s RTÉ called participation “unconscionable given the appalling loss of life in Gaza.”
- Spain’s RTVE, one of Eurovision’s biggest financial contributors, said it would neither compete nor broadcast the contest.
- Slovenia’s RTV Slovenija cited the deaths of more than 20,000 children in Gaza as the decisive factor.
- The Netherlands’ AVROTROS said it could not reconcile the event with its public values while Israel remained in the competition.
The boycott movement erupted after the EBU’s general assembly in Geneva on December 4–5 refused to hold a specific vote on Israel’s participation, despite formal requests from at least nine member broadcasters. Instead, the EBU introduced new voting safeguards and anti-manipulation measures for 2026, then declared the matter closed, confirming that Israel’s public broadcaster KAN would remain eligible as long as it complies with the contest’s rules.
The decision has sparked the largest coordinated withdrawal in Eurovision history, surpassing previous boycotts related to political controversies in the 1970s and 1980s.
The ongoing war in Gaza, now in its third year, has claimed over 70,000 Palestinian lives according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, with the United Nations estimating that more than 90 % of the population has been displaced and large parts of the territory reduced to rubble. Israel maintains that its military operations target Hamas and other armed groups, while rejecting accusations of disproportionate force.
For many of the boycotting broadcasters and their audiences, the EBU’s refusal to treat Israel’s case differently from Russia’s automatic exclusion after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine has become a symbol of double standards.
Eurovision 2026 is scheduled to take place in Vienna, Austria, in May. The EBU has stated that the contest will proceed with the remaining participating countries and expressed hope that the absent broadcasters will return in future years.
Iceland, despite never winning the contest, has long been one of its most enthusiastic participants, finishing second in 1999 and 2009 and regularly sending some of the event’s most memorable entries. The country’s withdrawal means that for the first time since 1970, five established Eurovision nations will be absent from the same edition.
