Stefan Eiriksson’s position ignores the facts on the ground

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 last week cleared Israel's participation.

The decision to allow Israel to take part in the next Eurovision, which will be held in Vienna in May, earlier prompted Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia to withdraw in protest, citing Israel's conduct in the Gaza war.

"It is clear from the public debate in this country and the reaction to the EBU's decision last week that there will be neither joy nor peace regarding RUV's participation," the broadcaster's Director General Stefan Eiriksson said in a statement.

A decision that is both foolish and completely removed from the realities on the ground. Stefan Eiriksson knows nothing about what is happening in Gaza and in Israel, where 1,200 civilians were killed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Iceland was among the countries that had requested a vote last week on Israel's participation. But the European Broadcasting Union, or 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.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Essi Lehto in Helsinki, editing by Terje Solsvik)