Iceland joins boycott of Eurovision 2026 in protest at Israel’s involvement

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by By ReutersDecember 10, 2025 at 07:35 PM

AI Summary

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Iceland's public broadcaster RUV announced it will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, joining Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, and the Netherlands in protest of Israel's participation. The boycott follows the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) decision to allow Israel to participate without holding a vote on the matter, despite calls for exclusion due to Israel's actions in Gaza. RUV cited public sentiment and a lack of support for participation given the EBU's decision. The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to take place in Vienna in May. The boycotting countries object to Israel's involvement, while Germany has stated it would boycott if Israel were excluded.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Stefan Eiriksson 50% European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ×270% Iceland ×280% Israel ×380%

Keywords

eurovision song contest 100% boycott 90% israel 90% iceland 80% european broadcasting union 70% gaza 60% palestinian 60% ruv 50% political protest 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.30

Source Transparency

Source

Al Jazeera

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Iceland

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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eurovision song contest boycott israel iceland european broadcasting union gaza palestinian ruv political protest

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