The board of the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV has approved a recommendation calling on the European Broadcasting Union to ban Israel from competing in Eurovision 2026.

At a board meeting for RÚV, five of the nine members of the board have approved a recommendation calling on the European Broadcasting Union to remove Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The board meeting comes at a time when RÚV is discussing whether it will compete in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, should Israel be allowed to compete.

Stefán Jón Hafstein, Chairman of the board of RÚV, explained that from their understanding:

The EBU will meet for a General Assembly on December 4-5. I understand that on December 4, this issue regarding Israel’s participation and the rules regarding the competition will be discussed and then our (recommendation) will have been presented for that meeting. It will be completely clear then.

A decision has yet to be taken on whether Iceland will still compete in the Eurovision Song Contest should Israel be allowed to compete. The Chairman explained that a decision will be taken at a board meeting following the General Assembly.

Væb represented Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with “Róa”. They qualified for the Grand Final, marking Iceland’s first appearance in a final since 2022. Iceland placed 25th, scoring 33 points. Its highest points came in the form of 10 points from the Danish televote.

Image Source: Sarah Louise Bennett/ EBU | Source: RÚV 

Iceland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 and, aside from 2 years of relegation in 1998 and 2002, has participated every year since. The contest is incredibly popular in Iceland, regularly being one of the most-watched programs of the year. Iceland has yet to win the contest but has finished in 2nd on two occasions. In 1999, Selma missed out on victory in Jerusalem by 17 points, and in 2009 Yohanna became the most successful Icelandic entrant ever finishing 2nd in the final with the song “Is it True?”. She scored 218 points, yet still finished 169 points behind the runaway winner Norway.

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Posted by:Anthony Granger

Since launching Eurovoix in April 2011, it has been a pleasure to find out more about this amazing continent through the Eurovision Family of Events. From starting out as a small site, it’s been brilliant to see the site grow and flourish and continue to bring our readers everything from the world of Eurovision.