Netherlands withdraws from Eurovision 2027 amid divisions over Israel

The Dutch public broadcaster NPO announced on October 27 that the Netherlands will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027, reversing a September plan to return. NPO said divisions over the participation of Israel meant there was not enough support among the public broadcasters to organise a Dutch entry.

NOS will still televise the two semi-finals and the final with Dutch commentary, but the country will be without a representative for a second consecutive year.

Reasons and reactions

Jet de Ranitz, chair of NPO's board, said initial talks had pointed toward a comeback but that the partners failed to agree a workable format. "Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable format for this," she said.

Jure Bosman, NPO's media director, stressed that performers and their teams must have full backing from one or more broadcasters before heading to the contest. Dutch news programme Nieuwsuur reported that more than 400 employees across public broadcasters had previously called for a withdrawal over Israel's participation; Bosman told Nieuwsuur he did not consider that letter decisive and pointed to an overall lack of broadcaster support. EO and WNL reportedly examined whether they could help with preparations, but no implementation agreement was reached.

AVROTROS, which had organised the Dutch entry for years, stepped away on 24 August and handed responsibility back to NPO. AVROTROS cited the humanitarian suffering in Gaza, restrictions on press freedom and unclear rules for countries involved in military conflicts as reasons for its decision. "Eurovision thereby became a stage of divisions," said AVROTROS director Tako Zimerman at the time.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the contest, expressed regret over NPO's withdrawal. "We deeply regret that NPO will not participate in Eurovision 2027 after all," said contest director Martin Green, adding that he understands and respects the positions in the Netherlands.

NPO had announced in September that it intended to return through a joint project of public broadcasters featuring an independent selection team and accompaniment for the representative. Talks about a possible Dutch return are now being directed toward 2028, Bosman told Nieuwsuur.

The Netherlands was among several countries that boycotted the 2026 contest — together with Ireland, Iceland, Spain and Slovenia — in protest against Israel's participation and its military offensive in Gaza. Eurovision 2027 will take place in Burgas, Bulgaria, with semi-finals on May 11 and 13 and the final on May 15.

Photo: press material from the event