Netherlands ends Eurovision boycott over ‘Israel’ with new broadcaster
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The Netherlands will return to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 after public broadcaster AVROTROS withdrew over ‘Israel’s’ participation, with umbrella organization NPO now coordinating the country’s entry.
AVROTROS, which had handled Dutch involvement for years, announced in late August that it would sit out the contest in Burgas, Bulgaria, for a second consecutive year.
It argued the event “can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict,” citing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, restrictions on press freedom, and insufficient confidence that recent EBU rule changes had restored the contest’s independent character.
Director-general Taco Zimmerman described it as having become “a platform for division.”
Responsibility then shifted to NPO, the Dutch public broadcasting umbrella.
After talks with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), NPO confirmed on Wednesday that the Netherlands will participate.
An independent team of experts under NPO will select and support the Dutch act, while task broadcaster NOS will provide coverage of the semi-finals and grand final, scheduled for May 11, 13 and 15, 2027.
NPO board chair Jet de Ranitz said the decision followed agreements to place the contest’s original founding principle—uniting people after the Second World War—back at its center.
“We understand that participation in the Eurovision Song Contest evokes mixed feelings in the Netherlands,” she stated.
“We have explicitly asked the EBU to once again make the unifying character of the festival an important part of the event, in recognition of a time of geopolitical unrest, war, and polarization... To help shape and champion this direction, we, as the Dutch public broadcaster, want to be part of the Eurovision Song Contest again.”
The Netherlands was one of five countries (alongside Ireland, Spain, Iceland and Slovenia) that boycotted the 2026 contest in Vienna over ‘Israel’s’ continued presence.
Ireland’s RTÉ has already confirmed it will stay out again in 2027, while others have yet to decide.
No artist has yet been named for 2027.
The Netherlands, a five-time winner and founding participant since 1956, last competed in 2025.
The return marks the first among the 2026 boycotting nations to reverse course under a new coordinating broadcaster.
