Dutch Broadcaster AVROTROS Boycotts Eurovision Again, Calling It a "Platform for Division"
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has announced it will sit out the Eurovision Song Contest for a second consecutive year, saying the event has become a "platform for division" over the continued participation of Israel while that country is engaged in a large-scale military conflict.
The decision, reported by ABC News on August 24, 2026, means AVROTROS will not take part in the 2027 contest, scheduled to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria, according to Deutsche Welle. AVROTROS first withdrew from the 2026 contest, a move it announced on its official press page in December 2025 after what it described as a careful process.
AVROTROS director-general Taco Zimmerman said the contest was created to bring countries together but can no longer be considered neutral. The broadcaster cited the severe humanitarian suffering in Gaza and ongoing restrictions on press freedom as factors deepening divisions around the event. It also said recently announced changes by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) — the Geneva-based group of public broadcasters from 56 countries that runs Eurovision — do not restore sufficient confidence in the contest's independence.
AVROTROS called on the EBU to establish transparent rules for the participation of countries involved in military conflicts. It also said it is leaving it up to the Dutch public network NPO to decide on any Dutch involvement in Eurovision going forward.
The Netherlands is not alone. Broadcasters in Iceland, Ireland, Slovenia, and Spain also refused to take part in the 2026 contest because of Israel's participation, per ABC News. An EenVandaag opinion panel survey published in May 2026 found that four in ten Dutch Eurovision enthusiasts said they would not tune in to that year's broadcasts because of Israel's involvement, while an earlier survey from May 2025 found that 56 percent of the Dutch public believed Israel should not be allowed to compete.
Israel has taken part in Eurovision since 1973, as one of a few non-European countries to compete. At the 2026 contest, Bulgarian singer Dara won with the song "Bangaranga." Israel placed second in both 2025 and 2026, according to Deutsche Welle.
The Eurovision Song Contest was founded in 1956 to help unite a shattered continent after World War II. A number of performers and countries have since called for Israel's exclusion from the event. The future of the contest has been described as uncertain because of political and financial pressures, with five countries boycotting in 2026, as reported by EenVandaag in May 2026.
For Eurovision fans, the boycotts raise a familiar question: can a competition built on the idea of nations gathering around a stage still function when some of those nations are at war? The EBU has not yet publicly responded to AVROTROS's latest announcement.
