Iceland quietly shelves Söngvakeppnin after pulling out of Eurovision 2026

No build-up. No countdown. Just a message that lands and changes the picture.

Iceland’s public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) has informed songwriters that Söngvakeppnin will not happen this year. Not in its usual form. Not in a revised one. Not at all.

This follows the decision, confirmed back in December, for Iceland to stay out of Eurovision Song Contest 2026.

The two things are connected. Directly.

When the reason disappears, so does the format

Söngvakeppnin has always existed for one purpose: choosing Iceland’s Eurovision entry. According to Eva Georgsdóttir Ásudóttir, RÚV’s Director of Programming, once that purpose is gone, the structure collapses with it.

This was not debated at length in recent weeks. The thinking was already settled months ago. December, to be precise. What is happening now is simply the confirmation phase.

No Eurovision.
No national final built around Eurovision.

From RÚV’s point of view, it is that simple.

No replacement, no reshuffle, no clear plan

RÚV says it will offer alternative programming during the slot normally reserved for Söngvakeppnin. That sentence does a lot of heavy lifting, because it is intentionally unspecific.

There is no confirmed music competition waiting in the wings. No promise of a new format. No announcement suggesting this is a temporary tweak rather than a full stop.

Decisions, they say, have not been taken yet. And that uncertainty seems genuine.

This feels different from previous pauses

Söngvakeppnin has survived changes, reforms and rebrands. It has also survived years where Iceland struggled to find momentum internationally. What it has not done before is disappear entirely because the destination itself is missing.

For 2026, the chain is broken.
No Eurovision participation.
No Söngvakeppnin.
No automatic substitute.

Whether this turns into a rethink of Iceland’s whole approach to Eurovision, or simply a year of silence followed by a return, remains open. For now, RÚV has stepped away from routine and left the calendar blank.

And that, in itself, says quite a lot.

Source: RÙV