Dutch broadcaster AvroTros to boycott Eurovision again in 2027

Dutch broadcaster AvroTros will boycott the Eurovision Song Contest for a second year in 2027 in protest at Israel’s continuing participation.

The company called in a statement for “transparent rules” on countries involved in military conflicts to restore the “neutrality” of the event.

“It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the contest, undermining its neutral character,” director-general Taco Zimmerman said. “The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division.”

The Netherlands was one of five countries that refused to enter last year’s competition in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, although the contest in Austria was still shown on Dutch TV by public broadcaster NPO.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has since changed its rules to ban winning countries from hosting the following year’s event if they are involved in a “sensitive geopolitical situation” that affects the “security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region”.

But AvroTros said the revision did not go far enough to reassure it that the “independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored”.

Humanity

“Participation is therefore no longer consistent with the values of AvroTros: trustworthiness, independence and humanity,” it said.

The new rules are essentially a recognition of existing practice: Ukraine won the contest in 2022, but the following year’s event was held in the UK because of the Russian invasion.

NPO said it would consider whether it would broadcast next year’s song contest, which is being held in Bulgaria.

A spokesman said it was “a great shame” that AvroTros was boycotting the event. “We see that the geopolitical tensions are having a divisive effect. That makes it a difficult decision for our colleagues.”