On August 18, AVROTROS CEO Taco Zimmerman issued a statement confirming that the Dutch public broadcaster will not send a representative to the Eurovision Song Contest 2026. The stated reason is that the contest "can no longer be considered neutral" as international conflicts, particularly the Gaza war, increasingly impact the event.
"It cannot be denied that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the contest, eroding its inherent neutrality. The Eurovision Song Contest has thus become a forum of division," Zimmerman emphasized in the statement.
Earlier, Eurovision organizers announced regulatory changes that exclude countries involved in armed conflicts from hosting rights. However, according to AVROTROS, these changes "are not sufficient to restore confidence that the contest's independence and neutrality have been reinstated."
The Dutch decision comes amid a wave of boycotts in recent years related to Israel's participation. Israel finished runner-up twice in a row in 2025 and 2026.
In 2026, Eurovision is scheduled to take place in Burgas, a city on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, after singer Darina Yotova, known by her stage name Dara, helped the Balkan nation secure its first victory with the song "Bangaranga" in Vienna, Austria. This will be Bulgaria's first time hosting the world's largest music event, slated for May 15, 2026.
Since its debut in 1955, Eurovision has been a springboard to fame for artists such as ABBA, Celine Dion, Cliff Richard, and Olivia Newton-John. However, this year the contest attracted only 131 million television viewers, down 35 million from the previous year, following boycotts by five countries—the Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia—due to Israel's participation, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the entire show.
