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Iceland has announced it is boycotting next year’s Eurovision over Israel’s participation in the competition, saying taking part would “neither be a source of joy nor peace”.
The announcement from Iceland‘s RUV follows withdrawals by broadcasters from the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia.
In a statement, RUV said participation of Israeli national broadcaster KAN had “created disunity” among members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises Eurovision, and the general public.
Israel‘s place in the contest was confirmed at the EBU’s general assembly last week.
After criticism amid the war in Gaza, and allegations that voting earlier this year had been manipulated in favour of their contestant, members were asked to vote in a secret ballot on whether they were happy with tougher new rules, without going ahead with a second vote on participation for 2026.
Yuval Raphael represented Israel at this year’s competition in Switzerland. Pic: Reuters/ Denis Balibouse
The majority agreed the changes were enough, although Sky News understands 11 countries were against accepting these without a further vote.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, Spain’s RTVE, Ireland’s RTE and Slovenia’s RTV immediately issued statements announcing their withdrawal.
Becoming the fifth broadcaster to pull out, RUV said that while the new rules address many of the concerns it has raised, it believes there are “still doubts” about whether the changes are enough.
“RUV has repeadly raised concerns that various Icelandic stakeholders, such as artist associations and the general public, were opposed to participation in the contest,” the statement said. “Furthermore, RUV had requested the EBU to exclude KAN from the contest in accordance to precedents.
“It is a complex matter which has already damaged the contest’s reputation and EBU, emphasising the necessity of a solution for all concerned parties.”
Austria, which will host next year’s show, last week said it was pleased to see Israel allowed to participate. Roland Weissmann, director-general for Austrian broadcaster ORF, said the contest was a “competition for broadcasters, not governments”.
The BBC, which broadcasts the competition in the UK, also said it supported the decision.
Earlier on Wednesday, Poland’s TVP confirmed its participation.
In a statement, the broadcaster said it was aware of the scale of the tension surrounding the competition and understood the emotions and concerns raised.
“However, we believe that Eurovision still has a chance to once again become a space filled with music. And only music,” a TVP statetment said.
Despite some pressure from the cultural union in Belgium for a boycott, broadcaster RTBF also confirmed its participation last week.
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