Iceland is the fifth country to withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and The Netherlands. The decision follows a meeting of the Board of Directors of Icelandic broadcaster RÚV on the afternoon of December 10 — the deadline set by the EBU to avoid penalties for late withdrawal. You can read the full press release below.
Iceland withdraws from Eurovision 2026 (STATEMENT FROM RÚV)
The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RÚV) has decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, next year.
Participation of the Israeli national broadcaster, KAN, in the contest has created disunity among both members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the general public. KAN’s participation was discussed during EBU’s meetings earlier this year, in London last summer and Geneva last week. At the Geneva meeting, a vast majority of EBU members agreed that various adjustments to rules and production of the contest were sufficient and no further voting needed on KAN’s participation in the contest.
At the meeting, RÚV emphasized that although the adjustments addressed many of the concerns RÚV had raised at various stages of the EBU cooperation in recent years, RÚV believes that there are still doubts whether the agreed adjustments would be fully satisfactory. RÚV has repeadly raised concerns that various Icelandic stakeholders, such as artist associations and the general public, were opposed to participation in the contest. Furthermore, RÚV 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, emphasizing the necessity of a solution for all concerned parties.
According to public discourse in Iceland and the response to EBU’s decision last week, RÚV’s participation will neither be a source of joy nor peace. Therefore, RÚV has come to the conclusion to inform EBU today that RÚV will not participate in the Eurovision contest next year.
Söngvakeppni – Iceland’s pre-selection for Eurovision – and Eurovision has always aimed to unite the nation. However, it is clear that objective will not be achieved this year and this decision is based on that fact.
At this time, no decision has been made regarding Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins for next year. Currently, available options are being assessed and decision announced soon.
Do you think more countries will withdraw from the contest? Do you think that Iceland should still stage a national contest to celebrate its best song of the year? Let us know in the comments down below.
