Dutch broadcaster AvroTros will boycott next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, in protest over Israel’s participation amid the ‘severe humanitarian suffering’ inflicted on Gaza.
The public service broadcaster, which is part of the NPO, an umbrella organisation for the Dutch public broadcasting system, cited the recent Eurovision rule changes in the decision.
Ahead of the 2027 contest – which will take place in Burgas following Bulgarian singer Dara’s 2026 win – bosses introduced a new set of rules, which prevent a winning country from hosting the following year’s contest if in an armed conflict.
But in a lengthy statement, AvroTros said these rule-changes were not sufficient.
The statement said of Eurovision: ‘The event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict.
‘Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are having a significant impact on the Contest and have led to deep divisions.
‘The recently announced changes by the EBU do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored.’
The broadcaster went on to say participation in the competition was ‘no longer consistent with the values of AvroTros: trustworthiness, independence and humanity’.
The decision from AvroTros to withdraw does not strictly rule out the Netherlands from Eurovision, as another Dutch broadcaster may step in in their place.
AvroTros says it will hand the decision on Dutch participation to the NPO.
