RUV, the Icelandic national broadcaster, has opened the song submission window for Songvakeppnin 2026 despite its reservations for competing at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Austria.
A total of 10 acts will compete at the 2026 Icelandic national final, the winner will represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 if the country decides to compete in the contest. RUV has opened the song submission window for Songvakeppnin 2026 despite the broadcaster’s reservations on competing at the contest next year.
Artists and composers can submit their entries for Songvakeppin 2026 to RUV via here.
Iceland’s Eurovision 2026 participation remains uncertain and will depend on the ongoing outcome of the consultation process at the EBU regarding Israel’s participation at Eurovision.
RUV’s press release reads:
RÚV has opened the submission of songs to participate in next year’s Söngvakeppnin. The winner will be Iceland’s entry in next year’s Eurovision. It must be kept in mind, however, that although RÚV has announced its participation in next year’s Eurovision, that announcement was submitted with reservations due to the participation of the Israeli public broadcaster KAN in the competition.
As before, ten songs will be selected from the submitted songs for the competition here at home, and one of them will be Iceland’s entry in Eurovision. A press release from RÚV states that the participation in the competition has been announced with the reservation of a consultation process regarding KAN’s participation in the competition. RÚV is among those who have commented on Israel’s participation.
Stefan Eriksson (RUV General Director) told Ras 2’s Morning Radio program:
I think it’s likely that if there’s no change in the EBU’s position and it doesn’t respond to these voices of concern coming from us and from Spain and Slovenia and others, then it will trigger a reaction from these broadcasters, but let’s just wait and see.
I definitely feel that the landscape is changing a bit, but whether it will change in a way that will eliminate Israel from the competition in the coming weeks or months simply remains to be seen.
Due to the current global geopolitical scenario the EBU has decided to extend the final confirmation deadline from October to December. Hence broadcasters have until mid December to confirm their participation or withdraw their application without suffering a financial penalty.
Iceland at Eurovision
Iceland debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 and is yet to win the competition.The Nordic country has competed 37 times in the contest. Iceland achieved it’s best results in the contest in 1999 and 2009 when it placed second.
In 2025 VAEB represented Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest with their entry ‘ROA’.
