Iceland joins 4 other countries in quitting Eurovision in protest of Israel’s inclusion

Iceland announces that it will not take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, following through on its threat to boycott the competition if Israel participates.

Following a vote of its board, the RUV public broadcaster issues a statement saying it will back out of the 2026 competition, since Israel’s inclusion has “caused division” among both the general public and members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Iceland is joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in quitting next year’s contest in protest after the EBU cleared Israel to compete last week.

“Given the public debate in Iceland and the reaction to last week’s EBU decision, it is clear that there will be neither joy nor harmony surrounding RUV’s participation in Eurovision,” adds the broadcaster in explaining its decision.

Last week, the EBU cleared Israel to compete in the contest in Vienna next year, following a vote in which an overwhelming majority of its members accepted a package of reforms to the contest rather than force a direct vote on Israel’s participation.

RUV says that it does not believe “these changes are enough” and that it asked the EBU to kick out Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, which it refused to do.

Poland’s public broadcaster TVP confirmed earlier today that it will be taking part in next year’s contest, releasing a statement saying that while it is “aware of the scale of tension surrounding the upcoming edition,” it believes that “Eurovision still has a chance to once again become a space filled with music. And only music.”

With today’s news, either 34 or 35 countries are slated to take part in next year’s competition, down from the 37 that appeared in this year’s contest in Basel, Switzerland. Armenia has yet to publicly confirm its participation, although it is expected to do so.