Iceland seem to have confirmed their Eurovision 2026 participation.

[u/Cursedwizard0]

Source - https://www.ruv.is/songvakeppnin

[u/ohwowthen]

Hun, that's not the case. They never wanted to withdraw, they just wanted you to like them.

[u/olvirki → u/ohwowthen]

The call for withdrawal is real. Eurovision is watched by almost everyone (of course some are indifferent or actively dislike it) but a large section of the population is not watching Eurovision because Israel competes.

This extends beyond Eurovision. There were also calls for the Icelandic basketball team to refuse to compete with Israeli team recently but they did compete and lost. An Israeli AI specialist was also prevented from presenting a talk due to a protest.

In general Icelanders are well aware of the horror that goes on in Gaza (and the injustice in the West Bank) and a large section of the population wants a boycott and other diplomatic actions to put pressure on Israel. The government has been critical of Israels actions but has taken limited actions (Iceland did recognize Palestine in 2011 though and the government supports UNRWA). Another section of the population is pro Israel or is hesident about further action.

Personally I think we should not compete in 2026 if Israel competes. What has gone on in Gaza this year is horrible to say the least. We can just have our local Söngvakeppni. Its one of the biggest television event of the year. I do hope they change the format of Söngvakeppnin though, they draw things out so much.