KRO-NCRV and BNNVARA have both confirmed that they have no intention to take over organising the Netherlands’ participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
NU.nl reports that two of the Dutch public broadcasters have confirmed that they will not take over organisation of the Netherlands’ participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Organising of Dutch participation is now an open conversation after AVROTROS announced this morning that they will not compete in the 2027 contest.
KRO-NCRV, which is setup to serve Catholic and Protestant Christian communities in the Netherlands, told the news ageny ANP that:
“In terms of programming, this does not fit with KRO-NCRV’s programming lineup, so we have no plans for it,”
While, BNNVARA also issued a statement:
 “We consider it a strong and courageous decision by AVROTROS and fully support our colleagues in this”
AVROTROS has informed NPO, the governing body for Dutch public broadcasting about its decision and is transferring the responsibility of Eurovision participation to them. One of the other broadcasters that is a member of NPO may take up participation responsibilities for the Netherlands. Omroep Max has already stated that it will not take over participation duties.
NTS (Nederlandse Televisie Stichting) was responsible for Dutch Eurovision participation between 1956 and 1969, before NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting) took over between 1970 and 2009. TROS then took over in 2010 and continued participation when it was merged with AVRO to create AVROTROS, which was responsible for Dutch Eurovision participation until now.
The following public broadcasters are eligible to take over participation and have not publicly ruled out taking over organisation:
EO
Human
NOS
NTR
ON
PowNed
VPRO
WNL
Zwart
NOS and NTR have both said in statements that it is too early to comment on whether they would take over organisation. NTR told RTL that “The NPO is now going to consider how to proceed. For the NTR, it is therefore too early at this moment to anticipate this”. NOS explained that “It is…still too early for us to comment”.
AVROTROS will not participate in Eurovision 2027 and will continue its boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest. In a statement released, AVROTROS stated:
“AVROTROS will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are having a significant impact on the Contest and have led to deep divisions. Over the past year, AVROTROS has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to establish transparent rules for the participation of countries involved in military conflicts. However, the recently announced changes by the EBU do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored. Participation is therefore no longer consistent with the values of AVROTROS: trustworthiness, independence and humanity.
The severe humanitarian suffering in Gaza and the ongoing restrictions on press freedom have contributed to increasing divisions surrounding the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years. This is reflected in, for example, the decision of five countries not to participate in 2026, former winners returning their trophies, and more than 1000 musicians and cultural professionals calling on the EBU, in an open letter, to intervene. This underlines the need for a clear framework for assessing the participation of countries involved in military conflicts. Under which circumstances is participation compatible with a neutral Eurovision Song Contest, and when is it not? For AVROTROS, it remains unclear on what basis the EBU makes that assessment.”
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest+
The Netherlands debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 and has gone on to compete in all but four contests. The Netherlands has won the contest on five occasions; 1957, 1959, 1969, 1975 and most recently 2019. Prior to Duncan Laurence’s victory in Tel Aviv, the Netherlands had been waiting 44 years for their next victory. Duncan Laurence won the contest in Tel Aviv with the song “Arcade”.