Following the General Assembly held today in Geneva, the EBU members were asked to vote (secretly) on whether they support the new suggested changes to the Eurovision Contest rules.
With broad agreement that a further vote wasn’t needed, the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 is confirmed to go ahead, including the new safeguards. Following this, no separate vote on participating countries was needed.
The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS expressed dissatisfaction with the results and, as a result, decided to withdraw from Eurovision 2026.
Attached here is the full statement of the Dutch broadcaster:
AVROTROS has decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. This decision follows a careful process in which information was gathered from a wide range of stakeholders: from the Israeli ambassador to Amnesty International, from the EBU to various European public broadcasters, and internally from our own Association Council, Works Council, and Supervisory Board, as well as the many thousands of Eurovision fans who reached out. All things considered, AVROTROS concludes that participation under the current circumstances is incompatible with the public values that are essential to us. The decision was made in close consultation with the NPO, which respects and supports this consideration.
Review of the process
On September 12, 2025, AVROTROS indicated that the political interference during the last Eurovision Song Contest are incompatible with values that are fundamental to us. In this context, AVROTROS concludes that KAN’s participation this year is no longer compatible with the responsibility we bear as a public broadcaster. Reliability, independence, and humanity are our guiding principles.
EBU Response and Developments
The EBU has acknowledged that political interference occurred during the previous edition and has announced additional measures to prevent a recurrence. However, these measures do not change what happened during the last edition. Today, the General Assembly decided that Israel can participate in 2026. At the same time, this meeting revealed that concerns about the neutrality and apolitical nature of the Eurovision Song Contest remain strong among several European broadcasters.
Conclusion
What happened last year; The violation of universal values such as humanity and a free press, as well as the political interference in the previous Eurovision Song Contest, means that we have reached a limit. This remains paramount, regardless of any subsequent steps. It is currently too early to speak of a substantial, stable improvement that would justify participation in the Eurovision Song Contest based on our values.
The CEO of AVROTROS, Taco Zimmerman, commented:
”This was not an easy decision, and we didn’t make it lightly. The Eurovision Song Contest is incredibly valuable to us. Culture unites, but not at all costs. What happened last year touches our boundaries. Universal values like humanity and a free press have been seriously violated and are non-negotiable for us. Furthermore, last year’s political interference demonstrated that the independence and unifying nature of the Eurovision Song Contest can no longer be taken for granted. We choose the core values of AVROTROS and, as a public broadcaster, have the responsibility to remain true to these values, even when that proves difficult or delicate.”
AVROTROS won’t broadcast Eurovision 2026. Another EBU member, NPO, will ensure the Dutch audience will be able to watch the shows.
The Netherlands has participated in Eurovision 65 times, with 54 grand final appearances.
The first participation was in the first edition in 1956.
Over the years, the country has won 5 Eurovision trophies in 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975, and 2019.
We’ll hope to see the Netherlands competing in Eurovision in the future
Eurovision 2026 will be held in Vienna, Austria, on May 12th, 14th, and 16th, 2026.
