Following the conclusion of its board meeting, Iceland’s broadcaster RÚV has officially confirmed that the country will not participate in Eurovision 2026. Iceland becomes the fifth country to boycott the contest following last week’s European Broadcasting Union (EBU) General Assembly, which confirmed Israel’s participation.
RÚV’s statement highlights strong public opposition in Iceland and growing doubts about the EBU’s credibility. Despite attempts to address concerns, the controversy has overshadowed the contest, making it clear that Eurovision can no longer unite Icelandic fans. The broadcaster concluded that, under the current circumstances, the show cannot fulfill its goal of bringing Icelandic audiences together.
Director General Stefán Eiríksson said, “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 RÚV's participation.”
Iceland had been among the countries calling for a vote at the General Assembly on Israel’s participation. However, the EBU chose not to hold a vote, introducing a new set of rules instead. These changes include the return of juries in the semi-finals, a cut in the number of votes from 20 to 10, and stricter safeguards to protect the voting process and limit government influence.
The EBU’s decision had already prompted the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia to withdraw in protest, making Iceland the fifth country to officially boycott.
RÚV’s full statement reads:
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Corporation has decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, next year.
The participation of the Israeli national broadcaster, KAN, in the contest has recently caused discord, both among the member stations of the European Broadcasting Union, EBU, and among the public. KAN's participation was discussed in detail at EBU meetings earlier this year, first in London this summer and in Geneva last week. At the meeting in Geneva, a large majority of EBU member stations agreed that various changes that have been made to the rules and the implementation of the contest were satisfactory, and therefore there was no vote on KAN's participation in the contest.
The director-general of the broadcaster explained at the meeting in Geneva that although the changes met many of the comments that RÚV representatives had made at various stages of the EBU cooperation in recent years, RÚV still had doubts about their usefulness. It had been repeatedly stated that stakeholders in Iceland, for example artists' associations, and the Icelandic public were opposed to participation in the competition. The board of RÚV had then requested that the EBU remove KAN from the competition, taking into account precedents. The issue was complex to resolve and had already damaged the reputation of the competition and the EBU. It was important to find a solution for all parties involved.
It is clear from the public debate in this country and the reaction to the EBU's decision made last week that there will be neither joy nor peace regarding RÚV's participation in Eurovision. It is therefore RÚV's decision to inform the EBU today that RÚV will not participate in Eurovision next year.
The Song Contest and Eurovision have always had the goal of uniting the Icelandic people, but it is now clear that that goal will not be achieved and this decision is made on those programmatic grounds.
There has been no decision yet on whether a singing competition will be held by RÚV next year. The available options are being evaluated and a decision will be announced when it is available.
