Iceland has become the fifth country to announce it will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after Israel’s participation in the contest was officially confirmed last week. Despite boycott threats from several broadcasters over Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, Israel’s entry was approved after members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided not to hold a vote on banning the country.<\/p>\n
Following the EBU’s decision, Spain, one of the so-called "Big Five" with the largest contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest, said it would boycott the 2026 event because of Israel’s participation. The Eurovision Song Contest host broadcasters in Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and now Iceland are also withdrawing from the song contest, which attracts millions of viewers worldwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe respect the decision of all broadcasters who have decided not to take part in next year\u2019s Eurovision Song Contest and hope to welcome them back soon,\u201d said Eurovision director Martin Green. Iceland joins four other countries that are eliminated from the international music competition.<\/p>\n
On December 4, the EBU, which runs Eurovision and represents public broadcasters from 56 countries, held its biannual meeting, where some members called for Israel’s expulsion over alleged election interference and its handling of the war in Gaza. The assembly decided to adopt stricter voting rules in response to allegations that Israel had previously rigged the vote in favor of its candidate.<\/p>\n
Eurovision’s voting system came under scrutiny after Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, jumped to second place in this year’s public vote. Last year’s representative, Eden Golan, also climbed to fifth place, both despite poor jury ratings. \u201cA large majority of members agreed that there was no need for a further vote on participation and that the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 should go ahead as planned with the additional security measures in place,\u201d the EBU said.<\/p>\n
The war in Gaza has created a sharp divide between host broadcasters and participants over the past two years. \u201cThe situation in Gaza makes it increasingly difficult to maintain the Eurovision Song Contest as a neutral cultural event, despite the ceasefire and acceptance of the peace process, as well as Israel’s use of the competition for political goals,\u201d said the secretary general of Spain’s RTVE.<\/p>\n
Spain is one of the \u201cBig Five\u201d wholesale market countries that make the greatest contribution to competition. The Irish broadcaster also released a similar statement on its decision to withdraw from the event: "RTE believes that Ireland’s participation remains irresponsible given the appalling loss of life in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, which continues to endanger the lives of so many civilians." Ireland have won seven times, a record they share with Sweden.<\/p>\n
Israeli President Isaac Herzog was pleased that Israel had been cleared to take part in the 2026 show, adding that it \u201cdeserves to be represented on every stage in the world.\u201d \u201cI hope that the competition continues to be a competition that promotes culture, music, friendship between nations and cross-border cultural understanding,\u201d he said. Germany and Austria, which will host next year’s competition, have supported Israel remaining.<\/p>\n
Eurovision is in the \u201cworst crisis ever\u201d according to Eurovision expert and author Dean Vuletic. "I have traced the political history of the contest and I can say that this is truly the most serious crisis it has ever faced because we see such deep divisions in the European Broadcasting Union on this issue," he said. The disagreements over Israel’s continued involvement go beyond previous EBU disagreements. Next year is the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, which should be a celebration, but the boycotts mean there will be political controversy instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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