The Netherlands will not take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest following the decision by organiser EBU not to exclude Israel.
Public broadcasting company NPO said no other broadcaster will step in to send a Dutch entry after AvroTros’s withdrawal, although it will ensure the contest is still broadcast for Dutch viewers.
European public broadcasters met at the EBU headquarters in Geneva to discuss the future of Eurovision on Thursday. AvroTros, together with broadcasters from Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Slovenia, had argued that Israel’s public broadcaster should be barred because of the war in Gaza.
AvroTros also said the Israeli government had used the contest as a “political instrument”, pointing to a government-run promotional campaign for the country’s entry.
You have no idea what it takes to get the Dutch to pull out
I love Eurovision and always admired how it’s strived not to be political.
But I respect the Netherland’s position here even more. I suspect they are just the first and this could be one a Eurovision to remember for the wrong reasons.
I don’t consider genocide to be political. I mean everything is technically political but you know what I mean.
i bet they’ll be the only ones
You’ve lost that bet already, then.
"Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after it was decided Israel could compete. "
one bet i’m glad too lose, but still clearly not enough
And here i am wondering if anyone knows what avrotros means :)
Either way, good on the!
Edit: it’s a combination of AVRO and TROS, AVRO being Algemene Verenigde Radio Omroep (generic United radio broadcaster) and TROS being Televisie en Radio Omroep Stichting (television and radio Broadcast Foundation). I might be slightly off, going from memory here, but Dutch broadcast network names always sounded like a Monty Python sketch about the Judean People’s Front vs Judean Front for the People
