Dutch broadcasting giant, AVROTROS has announced that it will not be participating in 2027’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Why? “Because the event is no longer neutral”, it announced in a statement.
However, to be more direct, it is because Israel is still able to participate while committing genocide.
The EBU hasn’t done enough
According to the statement, “Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are having too much of an impact on the Song Contest and have led to significant division.”
AVROTROS has urged the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to “establish transparent rules for the participation of countries in military conflict.”
However, they have been left disappointed by the EBU’s adjustments and have “insufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Song Contest can be restored.”
As a result, “participation is therefore inconsistent with the broadcaster’s values: reliability, independence, and humanity.”
A contest that divides instead of uniting
Taco Zimmerman, CEO of AVOTROS backs up the statement, writing that:
“The Eurovision Song Contest was originally founded to connect people and countries. But you cannot deny that an international conflict is increasingly permeating the event, causing it to lose its neutral character.”
The statement also points to the more specific cause of this divide, saying “The severe humanitarian suffering in Gaza and the ongoing attacks on press freedom have led to increasing division surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years.”
They’re not the only ones
The broadcaster also points out that they’re not the only ones who are feeling let down by the EBU, highlighting that five countries boycotted Eurovision last year (The Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Iceland, and Slovenia), and previous winners are handing back their trophies.
According to the statement, more than a thousand musicians and creatives called on the EBU to take action in an open letter.
Does this mean the Dutch won’t have an entry in 2027?
Not yet. For now, this means that NPO is now responsible for Dutch participation in Eurovision 2027.
NPO now has a decision to make: to participate, or not to participate. According to AD, they have responded to AVROTROS’ statement, saying:
“We also see that geopolitical tensions are having a divisive effect. That is why this has not been an easy decision for our colleagues. We will reflect on the upcoming edition and return to this at an appropriate time.”
Let’s see what they decide to do. Though if 2026 is any indicator, we probably would hold off on purchasing those sparklers for now.
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