This morning, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has announced that it will not be participating in Eurovision 2027, which will take place in Burgas. This is despite earlier reports that the broadcaster was set to return to next year’s competition.
Second year of non-participation
In a statement on social media, AVROTROS said it does not have sufficient confidence that the EBU’s recent changes have restored the contest’s neutral character.
AVROTROS will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because 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.
Over the past year, AVROTROS has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to establish transparent rules for the participation of countries involved in military conflicts.
However, 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. Participation is therefore no longer consistent with the values of AVROTROS: trustworthiness, independence and humanity.
AVROTROS has informed the NPO of its decision and is returning the responsibility for the Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest to the NPO. The NPO will determine how this will proceed for 2027.
At the time of writing, the EBU has yet to comment on AVROTROS’ statement.
Netherland’s Eurovision journey
The Netherlands are one of the founding countries of Eurovision, having performed the very first song ever on the Contest stage back in 1956. While the result of “De Vogels van Holland” is unknown, the Netherlands have garnered 5 wins. Their most recent win came in 2019, seeing them host the 2021 contest after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid. However, the Netherlands are also known to have had the longest ever non qualification streak in the semi-final era. The country missed out on the Grand Final 8 times between 2005 and 2012.
Claude represented the Netherlands in 2025 with the song “C’est La Vie”. Competing in the first semi-final, he eventually qualified for the final in Basel. In the final, the Netherlands would eventually finish in 12th place with 175 points. 133 of these points came from the juries, while the remaining 42 came from the televote. The nation withdrew from the 2026 Contest due to Israel’s participation.
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News source: AVROTROS
Photo credit: AVROTROS/EBU
Silvia Stifini