The final decision on Iceland’s participation in Eurovision 2026 will be made only in the fall, amid ongoing debates and opposition to Israel’s participation, which delays the process.

The final decision of Iceland regarding its participation in Eurovision 2026 is expected only in the upcoming fall, according to a statement by the public broadcaster (RÚV). One of the reasons for the delay, admitted by the broadcaster, is an ongoing dispute in Iceland over Israel’s participation in this year’s competition.

Strong Opposition to Israel’s Participation

The network’s program director, Eva Georgs Ásudóttir, confirmed in an interview with ESCspot that discussions at the broadcaster have not yet concluded, and no official decision has been made. The network’s management explicitly opposes Israel’s participation and has even instructed the channel’s CEO to vote in favor of Israel’s expulsion from Eurovision and the EBU, if such a proposal is raised at the general assembly.

In recent months, the chairman of the broadcaster’s board, Stefán Jón Hafstein, reinforced the authority’s position, arguing that a mechanism should be established whereby only independent Israeli artists could compete – under a neutral flag and without Israeli symbols. According to this mechanism, they would be required to publicly declare their acceptance of Eurovision values, mainly human rights, similar to the protocol at the most recent Olympics in Paris. “This mechanism can serve as a compromise between moral principles and artistic freedom”, Hafstein said, “and it is already implemented in sports”.

Threats, Statements, and Realities on the Ground

This is not a new dispute in Iceland: before Eurovision 2025, voices calling for Israel’s exclusion were already raised. However, Iceland eventually participated, though with a delayed decision announced only in mid-March, after most countries had already declared.

So far, no country has boycotted the contest due to Israel’s participation, despite official petitions and threats from several public broadcasters and ministers in countries like Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and Switzerland.

Iceland in Eurovision 2025

“Róa” is the name of the song performed by the duo Væb, who represented Iceland at Eurovision 2025. Iceland advanced to the grand final after ranking sixth in the first semi-final with 97 points. In the grand final, Iceland finished in 25th place with 33 points, with the public voting placing them 17th, while the juries ranked them last with 0 points.

This year, Iceland participated in the grand final after two years of failing to qualify. In 2023, Diljá failed to advance to the final with her song “Power”. In 2024, Hera Björk placed last in the first semi-final with the song “Scared Of Heights”.

Eurovision 2025: This was Iceland’s 37th participation in Eurovision. Iceland joined the competition in 1986 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 1999 and Eurovision 2009 after finishing second twice.