The Director General of RÚV has confirmed that the Icelandic broadcaster may withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to compete in Eurovision 2026.
RÚV has confirmed it is planning to compete in Eurovision 2026 in Vienna; however, it may withdraw should Israel be allowed to compete in next year’s contest. Speaking to Icelandic radio this morning, the Director General of the Icelandic broadcaster, Stefán Eiríksson, commented:
“I think it is likely that if there is no change in EBU’s position and it does not respond to these voices of concern coming from us, from Spain and Slovenia and others, then that will call for reactions from these broadcasters. But let’s just wait and see.”
“We have serious doubts about the conduct of both the Israeli public broadcaster and the Israeli government when it comes to Eurovision, and we have expressed these concerns within the EBU, that the rules of the competition are being broken.”
The Director General confirmed that the Icelandic broadcaster has not formally demanded that Israel be excluded from the contest. RÚV continues to plan to compete in Eurovision 2026 with Söngvakeppnin being used to select their entry for Vienna. 10 songs will be selected from an open song submission process to compete to represent Iceland at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest.
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
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