Iceland becomes fifth country to boycott Eurovision

Iceland has joined Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in saying it will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.

All five countries have withdrawn after Israel’s participation in the competition was officially confirmed last week.

“Participation of Israeli national broadcaster, Kan, in the contest has created disunity among both members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the general public,” Icelandic broadcaster RÚV said in a statement.

Iceland had previously indicated it intended to skip the 2026 contest, but wanted to wait until the issue could be discussed by its board of directors on Wednesday.

That meeting came hours before the deadline for countries to confirm whether they will join what’s supposed to be a celebratory 70th anniversary edition of the song contest in Austria next May.

Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973 because Kan, its public broadcaster, is a member of the European Broadcasting Union – which organises the competition.

Israel has won four times, most recently in 2018, and came second in the 2025 contest.

However, its presence has been an increasing source of tension, because of the war in Gaza and concerns over the voting and campaigning processes, including accusations that Israel’s government tried to influence the public vote at this year’s event.

A new raft of measures to protect the integrity of the vote was approved at an EBU summit last week, after which most countries confirmed they would travel to Vienna for the 2026 contest.

However, Spain said it had decided to withdraw after it asked for a vote on Israel’s participation, which was not approved. Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands also pulled out after that summit.

According to a transcript of Thursday’s meeting supplied by Kan, the broadcaster’s chief executive Golan Yochpaz criticised those trying to get Israel thrown out.

“The attempt to remove Kan from the contest can only be understood as a cultural boycott,” he said. “A boycott may begin today with Israel, but no one knows where it will end or who else it may harm.

“Is this what we truly want this contest to be remembered for on its 70th anniversary?”