The chairman of RÚV’s board of directors, Stefán Jón Hafstein, has called for the expulsion of Israel from Eurovision. This now makes Iceland the third country to explicitly call for Israel to be removed from the competition.
Chairman points to Russian case
In a statement published by Icelandic newspaper Visir, Hafstein said that Israel should be expelled while the war in Gaza is being investigated. He also pointed to the previous case where Russian broadcasters were removed from the Contest after its invasion of Ukraine.
Explaining the reasoning for his calls, chairman Hafstein added:
Now the same standards must be applied to Israel. Its military actions in the Gaza Strip have been strongly condemned by the international community for serious violations of international law. The EBU cannot have one moral standard for European victims and another for Palestinians.
Hafstein went on to say that should Israeli artists compete in the Contest, it should be done under a neutral flag. He added that the artists can only be allowed to take part if they prove their commitment for universal human rights.
RÚV will support case for expulsion if one is submitted
The chairman of the board of directors added that a case for Israel’s expulsion would be supported if one was submitted to the EBU. This comes ahead of a general meeting of the EBU in London later this month. When asked on the reasonings behind this move, Hafstein stated:
It refers to the precedent set against Russia and Belarus due to the unacceptable conduct of those countries.
This now means Iceland is the third country to seriously consider excluding Israel from the competition. Before this, Spain’s RTVE and Slovenia’s RTV SLO had called for KAN to be removed from Eurovision.
Iceland’s Eurovision journey
Iceland made its debut on the Eurovision stage in 1986, finishing 16th with the song “Gleðibankinn” (Bank of Fun) by ICY. In their 35 appearances, Iceland has finished in top 10 an impressive 7 times. Their best result to date is second place, which they have achieved twice. The first time was in 1999, where Selma Björnsdóttir received 146 points for her performance of “All Out of Luck”. The second time was in 2009, with Yohanna singing “Is It True” and receiving 218 points.
VÆB represented Iceland in Basel in 2025 with their song “RÓA”. The duo qualified for the final, bringing Iceland back into the final for the first time since 2022. In the final, they would eventually finish in 25th place with 33 points; all of these were awarded by the televote.
What do you make of the comments by the chairman? Do you think the EBU will listen to their concerns? As always, please let us know what you think by getting involved in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Threads, tumblr, and Bluesky for more information about Eurovision 2026!
News Source: Vísir
Photo Credit: mbl.is / Styrmir Kari
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