Iceland Becomes Fifth Country to Withdraw from Eurovision 2026

Image Credit: Harold Cunningham (Getty Images) via Financial Times

Pictured Above: Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant at this year’s Eurovision.

Iceland has become the fifth country to withdraw from Eurovision 2026, following the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)’s decision to allow Israel to compete in the competition. 

Following the EBU’s general assembly on the 5th of December, four countries - Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia - immediately announced their withdrawal from next year’s contest, citing the war in Gaza and Israeli manipulation of voting practices as their reason for doing so. All four countries have been vocal in calling for the exclusion of Israeli participation from the contest in the lead-up to the general meeting, where members would vote on rule changes.

The vote on new rules to reduce voting manipulation, which included reintroducing juries to semi-finals and a ban on third-party advertising by government agencies, passed with 738 votes in favour, 264 against, and 120 blank votes. 

Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia subsequently announced their withdrawal from the contest, with Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ also choosing not to broadcast the contest, stating that "participation remains unconscionable given the appalling loss of lives in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there which continues to put the lives of so many civilians at risk."

Belgium and Portugal have also said they were considering a boycott over the situation in Gaza, but have since confirmed their participation in next year’s event, with former Portuguese Eurovision winner Salvador Sobral decrying RTP’s decision as “institutional cowardice”. Twelve out of sixteen of the participating acts at Festival da Canção, Portugal’s national selection for Eurovision, have announced that they will refuse to participate in Eurovision if they win the selection. 

EBU director and Eurovision Executive Supervisor Martin Green said: "We respect the decision of all broadcasters who have chosen not to participate in next year's Eurovision Song Contest and hope to welcome them back soon." He estimates the number of participating countries in the 2026 contest at thirty-five, a record low since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004.