Iceland to boycott 2026 Eurovision in protest against go-ahead for Israel
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Israel’s 2025 Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael was at the Nova music festival, one of the targets of the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Iceland withdraws from Eurovision 2026 due to public debate and lack of "joy nor peace" regarding RUV's participation after Israel was cleared to participate.
- Other countries like Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia also withdrew, protesting Israel's conduct in the Gaza war.
- The EBU decided against voting on Israel's participation, implementing new rules to prevent government influence.
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COPENHAGEN – Iceland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the country’s public broadcaster RUV said on Dec 10, after the organiser – the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – 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 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 about 160 million viewers, according to the EBU. REUTERS
