Dutch broadcaster NPO drops its Eurovision 2027 entry a month after pledging a return, citing divisions over Israel

The Netherlands will skip the Eurovision Song Contest for a second straight year. NPO, the organization that coordinates Dutch public broadcasting, said on Tuesday, Oct. 27, that it had pressed “de pauzeknop” (the pause button) on preparations after consulting the College van Omroepen, the council of Dutch public broadcasters, and that participation in the next edition no longer stands (NPO). Talks with broadcasters showed “onvoldoende draagvlak” (insufficient support) for a 2027 entry, according to the NPO statement and NOS, the public news service, which published its report at 10:04 a.m. Dutch time, or 2:04 a.m. PT (NPO; NOS).

The decision undoes a pledge only weeks old. Late last month, NOS reports, NPO announced that the Netherlands would return after a year away, despite Israel’s participation, with the entry run as a joint project of the public broadcasters and coordinated by the umbrella organization (NOS). The BBC describes the same sequence: broadcaster Avrotros pulled out, NPO stepped in, and last month NPO “pledged” a 2027 return before reversing on Tuesday (BBC).

NPO chair Jet de Ranitz laid out the reasoning in the broadcaster’s statement. In the BBC’s English rendering, De Ranitz said: “In those discussions, we initially felt there was sufficient support to return. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a suitable format for this.” The chair added, per the BBC: “Due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play, we have decided to take a step back for the time being.” (BBC; Dutch original: NPO).

Media director Jurre Bosman named the issue directly. The BBC quotes him in translation: “Israel’s participation elicits various reactions in society and causes discussion and division” (BBC). In the Dutch release, Bosman adds that the same sensitivity runs through broadcasters and staff, and that NPO wants to send artists and crew only if they can count on the full backing of one or more broadcasters (NPO). He also said NPO will keep talking with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, about Eurovision’s future (NPO; NOS).

NPO had one more lever and chose not to pull it. Under Dutch media law, the broadcaster NTR covers gaps in public programming, so NPO could have assigned it the Eurovision entry, the release says (NPO). “Dat hebben wij niet gedaan” (we did not do that), De Ranitz said, calling it “onverantwoord” (irresponsible) to oblige a broadcaster to organize the 2027 entry when the subject draws such divided reactions, according to the release (NPO).

Pressure had built inside the broadcaster. NOS reports that the plan to send an artist to Bulgaria drew heavy criticism, and that earlier this month more than 400 NPO employees sent an urgent letter to the umbrella body objecting to taking part while Israel competes and asking how the decision came about (NOS). Euronews puts the figure at around 400 employees (Euronews). The trigger for the whole episode came in August, when the broadcaster AVROTROS said for a second year that it would not take part, arguing, according to NOS, that the event no longer counts as neutral while one participating country remains in a large-scale military conflict, a reference to Israel (NOS).

The EBU responded the same morning. In a statement posted at 10:02 a.m. CET, Eurovision Song Contest director Martin Green said: “We’re deeply sorry that NPO will now not take part in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest. We understand their decision, and we respect the strength of feeling behind it in the Netherlands.” (EBU). Green called the Netherlands a founding country that has taken part since the first contest in 1956, and argued that “the Eurovision Song Contest matters in a divided world” (EBU). The EBU said it looks forward to a Dutch entry “whenever NPO, its members and audiences feel the time is right” (EBU).

Reaction in the Netherlands split quickly, judging by posts on X. The talk show Sven op 1 posted a clip in which Eric van der Burg, whom the post calls a state secretary and a Songfestival fan, says: “We leven gelukkig in een land waar omroepen zelf bepalen” (fortunately, we live in a country where broadcasters decide for themselves) (@Sven_op_1 on X). The site GeenStijl posted a clip in which politician Caroline van der Plas, according to the post, said the decision carried a “zweem van antisemitisme” (a whiff of antisemitism) (@geenstijl on X). This desk has not watched either clip in full and quotes only the words printed in the posts.

The Dutch exit adds to a wider rift. The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all boycotted the 2026 contest over Israel’s participation, the BBC reports, amid criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the Middle East (BBC). For 2027, Ireland will also stay out, the head of Spain’s public broadcaster has backed a boycott, and the Czech public broadcaster has pulled out, citing spending cuts, according to the BBC; NOS reports that Ireland’s RTÉ announced its decision last month, citing Gaza (BBC; NOS). Organizers have announced changes meant to ease the divisions, including barring any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting and changes to the voting, the BBC adds (BBC). Euronews reports that the 2026 contest drew 131 million viewers, down 35 million from the year before (Euronews).

Fans in the Netherlands will not lose the show itself. NPO says NOS will broadcast the semifinals and the final with Dutch commentary, as it did this year (NPO). The 2027 contest takes place in Burgas, Bulgaria, on May 15, after Bulgaria’s Dara won in Vienna this year with “Bangaranga,” according to the BBC and NOS (BBC; NOS).