Iceland has joined Spain, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands in saying it will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
The five countries withdrew after Israel’s participation in the competition was officially confirmed last week.
“Israeli national broadcaster Kan’s participation in the contest has created disunity between 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 competition but wanted to wait until its board could discuss the issue on Wednesday.
That meeting came hours before the deadline for countries to confirm whether they will join what is supposed to be a 70th anniversary celebration edition of the song contest in Austria next May.
Israel has participated in Eurovision since 1973 because Kan, its public broadcaster, is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the contest.
Israel has won four times, most recently in 2018, and placed second in the 2025 contest.
However, their presence has been a growing source of tension, due to the war in Gaza and concerns about voting and campaigning processes, including accusations that Israel’s government attempted to influence the public vote at this year’s event.
A new set 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 elections.
However, Spain said it had decided to withdraw after it called for a vote on Israel’s participation, which was not approved. Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands also withdrew after that summit.
According to a transcript of Thursday’s meeting provided by Kan, the station’s CEO, Golan Yochpaz, criticized those trying to oust Israel.
“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 really want this contest to be remembered for on its 70th anniversary?”
