Netherlands Withdraws From Eurovision 2027 Amid Israel Controversy

The Netherlands will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, scheduled to be held in Bulgaria, despite an earlier announcement of their return after a year-long absence. The Dutch public broadcaster NPO announced on Tuesday, October 27, that after consulting with the country's broadcasting companies, they have decided to withdraw. The official reason cited is insufficient support for participation.

"We have recently held negotiations with broadcasting organizations regarding the Netherlands' participation and concluded that a return to the contest does not have sufficient support," stated Jet de Ranitz, Chairwoman of the NPO board. "Unfortunately, we have not been able to find a suitable format. Therefore, we must acknowledge that it is still too early for Eurovision 2027. Given the sensitivity of the issues discussed, we have decided to halt this process at this stage."

This decision reverses an NPO announcement from September, which stated the Netherlands would return to the contest, even with Israel's participation. At that time, the organization said it would take responsibility for selecting the Dutch representative after AVROTROS, the broadcaster long responsible for the country's Eurovision entries, declared its intention to boycott the 2027 contest as well. AVROTROS explained its stance by stating that Eurovision had lost its neutral character due to the participation of a state involved in a large-scale military conflict, referring to Israel and the war in Gaza. AVROTROS representatives also claimed that changes introduced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) were insufficient to ensure the contest's independence and neutrality.

In its previous statement, the NPO had attempted to propose a mechanism to allow the Netherlands to continue participating in Eurovision by sharing responsibility for selecting the country's representative and covering the contest. However, an agreement on this approach among the broadcasting organizations could not be reached, and the NPO has now abandoned this plan as well.

Despite the withdrawal, the Dutch public broadcaster NOS will continue to broadcast Eurovision, including pre-show programming and commentary in Dutch. This means viewers in the country will be able to follow the contest, but the Netherlands will not send its own representative. The Netherlands was one of five countries that boycotted Eurovision 2026 due to Israel's participation, alongside Ireland, Iceland, Spain, and Slovenia. Ireland has already announced its non-participation in Eurovision 2027, while Spain, Iceland, and Slovenia will make their decisions independently of the Netherlands' position. Eurovision 2027 is expected to take place in Burgas, Bulgaria, from May 11 to 15.