The Netherlands will not participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, its broadcaster said Monday, saying the event can “no longer be considered neutral” given divisions over the Gaza war. “It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division,” said Taco Zimmerman, Director-General of AVROTROS in a statement from the broadcaster. The contest has recently been hit by a wave of boycotts over Israel’s participation. Earlier this month, organizers announced they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition. “However, the recently announced changes... do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored,” said the AVROTROS statement. Israel came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion. Next year’s event, the world’s biggest live televised music event, will take place on May 15 in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Burgas. It will be the first time that the Balkan nation hosts the contest, coming after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest in the Austrian capital Vienna with the catchy floor-filler “Bangaranga”. Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting the likes of Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John. The 2026 competition was watched by 131 million viewers, down 35 million on the year before after five countries boycotted it over Israel’s participation. The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all pulled out of the contest -- with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all. ‘Painful’ The Dutch took part in the very first Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956, and have won on five occasions. The most recent winner was Duncan Laurence whose song Arcade won the contest in 2019, going on to top charts globally. It became the first Eurovision entry to reach one billion streams on Spotify, according to the Eurovision website. The withdrawal is “painful as we would have very much liked to be part of the Contest again next year,” said Zimmerman. “As a public broadcaster, we remain committed to our values. They guide us in everything we do, even when that means stepping away from an event that is very close to our hearts,” he added. Martin Green, the director of the Eurovision Song Contest, told AFP the organization regrets the decision, but understood and respected the choice. Green said organizers would investigate whether another Dutch broadcaster might be willing to participate in the contest. “We very much hope that audiences and artists in the Netherlands can continue to be represented in the Eurovision Song Contest,” said Green. AVROTROS selects and manages the Dutch entry to the contest.
