A Dutch public broadcaster announced Monday that it would not be returning to the Eurovision next year, citing Israel’s ongoing participation in the competition. However, the decision does not fully rule out the Netherlands participating in the contest, since officials have indicated in recent weeks that a different Dutch broadcaster could instead represent the country.

AVROTROS, which has managed the Netherlands’ participation in Eurovision for the past decade, issued a statement Monday saying it would be boycotting the contest for the second year running.

“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,” the broadcaster wrote. It added that it has pressed the European Broadcasting Union to address such concerns, “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.”

Taco Zimmerman, the director-general of AVROTROS, said in the statement that “the Eurovision Song Contest was originally created to bring people and countries together. It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division.”

The broadcaster said it has informed NPO, the Dutch public broadcaster umbrella, 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.”

There are eight different broadcasters under NPO, which are all members of the EBU and therefore eligible to participate. The NOS and NTR broadcasters aired the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands after AVROTROS backed out of the competition.

In response to a query from The Times of Israel, NPO said Monday that........

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