Iceland will not take part ‍in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the country’s public broadcaster RUV said ‍on Wednesday, after organiser the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) last week cleared Israel’s participation. Iceland was ‍among the countries that had requested a vote last week on Israel’s participation. But the EBU decided not to call a vote on Israel’s participation, saying it had instead passed new rules aimed at discouraging ‌governments from influencing ‌the contest. Iceland has never won the song contest but came second in 1999 and 2009. ‌The Eurovision Song Contest dates back to 1956 and reaches around ⁠160 million viewers, according to the EBU.

Source: The Irish Times December 10, 2025 19:54 UTC