Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has declared that it will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna if Israel remains in the lineup, reports RTE.
In a released statement, AVROTROS said it had been involved in ongoing discussions with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and fellow public broadcasters over recent months about the direction of the contest and Israel’s role in it.
“The Eurovision Song Contest was founded in 1956 to bring people together after a period of deep division and war. Since its inception seventy years ago, music has been at the heart of the Contest as a unifying force, with peace, equality, and respect as its core values,” it said, reports RTE.
The broadcaster stated it “can no longer justify Israel’s participation in the current situation, given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza”.
It also highlighted issues around freedom of the press, “proven evidence of interference by the Israeli government” in the 2025 event, and concerns that Eurovision was being “used as a political instrument”, reports RTE.
“These circumstances are incompatible with the values represented by AVROTROS as a public broadcaster,” the statement continued. “Participation by AVROTROS in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 will not be possible as long as Israel is admitted by the EBU. Should the EBU decide not to admit Israel, AVROTROS will gladly take part next year,” reports RTE.
This announcement mirrors a similar stance from RTÉ earlier this week. RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst had called Irish involvement “unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza”, also noting attacks on journalists and the lack of media access in the region.
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said he respected RTÉ’s position, and the National Union of Journalists’ Dublin Broadcasting Branch also welcomed the broadcaster’s decision, urging others to do the same, reports RTE.
RTÉ, along with Spanish and Slovenian broadcasters, had already approached the EBU for discussions regarding Israel’s presence. After the EBU’s General Assembly in July, a number of members voiced their concerns about the issue.
The EBU has not yet made a final call on Israel’s participation. Eurovision director Martin Green stated that consultations with member broadcasters are ongoing, and that participants have until mid-December to confirm their involvement, reports RTE.
At the 2025 contest in Basel, Switzerland, Austria’s JJ won with Wasted Love. Ireland was represented by Emmy with Laika Party, while Yuval Raphael performed New Day Will Rise for Israel. Dutch artist Claude represented the Netherlands with C’est la vie, a bilingual track in French and English that reflected on his childhood and his mother’s support after his birth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Netherlands was also in the spotlight during Eurovision 2024 when its entrant, Joost Klein, was disqualified just ahead of the final after a female production worker filed a complaint. The EBU removed Klein for allegedly threatening behaviour. Swedish prosecutors later dropped the case, saying there was no evidence of harmful intent. Klein described the disqualification as “terrible”, reports RTE.
The 2026 contest, marking Eurovision’s 70th anniversary, is set to be held in Vienna next May. Ireland has won the competition seven times, while the Netherlands has claimed victory five times—most recently in 2019 with Duncan Laurence’s Arcade, reports RTE.
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