Iceland has announced that it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, and the Netherlands. The five countries have consistently withdrawn from the contest since Israel’s participation was officially confirmed last week.
Stefan Eriksson, director general of Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV, said the contest was not bringing peace or joy at the moment and that they were temporarily withdrawing from it. Eurovision director Martin Green said he respected the countries’ decisions not to participate and hoped they would soon rejoin.
