The Director of AVROTROS has confirmed that despite reporting in the Dutch press it has not taken a decision yet on participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.
Taco Zimmerman the Chairman of the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has confirmed to Spreek Buis that no decision has been taken on whether it will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025. In recent days there have been reports in the Dutch press that AVROTROS will participate in Basel and that Joost Klein had been chosen to represent the Netherlands again.
In an interview with Spreek Buis, Mr Zimmerman was asking whether AVROTROS is considering ‘quitting’ the contest, he explained:
You will hear about that soon, but we would not have asked for a postponement if it was not a serious consideration.
The Chairman went on to be asked why AVROTROS has not been more open about how it is making its decision, he replied:
It is a delicate matter. We are in talks with the EBU about the fact that things have to change there. We want guarantees first, before we decide to participate again.
Mr. Zimmerman confirmed that there was a view within AVROTROS that it could withdraw from Eurovision. He added leaving the contest;
(was the) feeling present within the company at one point. It applied to the upcoming edition, but we never considered quitting for good.
AVROTROS has until November 1 to confirm to the European Broadcasting Union whether they will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.
The reason for the extension relates back to Eurovision 2024, in which a number of events took place that AVROTROS has raised. This includes Dutch artist Joost Klein was disqualified following a backstage incident.
Since a criminal investigation into Klein was dropped by Swedish police, both sides have disagreed over whether Joost should have been disqualified. Additionally, the two organisations have disagreed over whether there were arrangements in place for Joost not to be filmed backstage at points during the contest.
AVROTROS released a statement saying they found Klein’s removal from Eurovision 2024 “disproportionate”. However, the EBU has stood by its decision to disqualify Joost, saying that it “was made in strict accordance with Eurovision Song Contest rules and governance procedures” in another statement.
The EBU has held an independent review into the events of Eurovision 2024. From this review, the EBU says it has identified ‘three thematic areas’ to address the recommendations the review has made. A number of changes have been announced for the 2025 contest including the appointment of an ESC Director and additional support for artists.
Image source: EBU / Corinne Cumming | Source: Spreek Buis
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