RÚV would support the exclusion of Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest, should the EBU propose that its broadcaster be removed from the EBU or the competition.
At a Board Meeting of the Icelandic public broadcaster on April 28, the board of RÚV expressed its view that it would support the exclusion of Israel from the EBU or the Eurovision Song Contest. Minutes from the meeting state:
“If a proposal is made at the EBU level to expel the Israeli Public Broadcasting Service from the organization and/or the song contest due to the Israeli government’s actions towards the residents of the Gaza Strip the Board of Directors will recommend that the Public Broadcasting Service support such a proposal after consultation with the Board. It refers to the precedent of Russia and Belarus due to the unacceptable actions of those countries.”
The Board Meeting was held before the European Broadcasting Union confirmed it would hold discussions with its members regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. Ahead of Eurovision 2025, RÚV and the Icelandic Ministry of Culture had shared their view that Israel should not be competing in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Following the conclusion of the 2025 contest on May 17, several broadcasters have contacted the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to request details of voting numbers. RTVE of Spain, VRT of Belgium, RÚV of Iceland, Yle of Finland, and RTÉ of Ireland have all raised questions regarding the voting at the contest. AVROTROS and NPO in the Netherlands has raised queries regarding the current state of the Eurovision Song Contest.
On May 23, Director of the Eurovision Song Contest, Martin Green, released an open letter regarding Eurovision 2025. In the letter, he outlined that the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group will review the voting data during June. In addition, they will review the promotion of our participants by their delegations and associated parties and discuss whether the public vote should continue to allow up to 20 votes to be cast.
Image Source: Corinne Cumming/EBU | Source: RÚV
