Source : Perth Now news
The Netherlands has decided to take part in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence in protest at Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip war.
The country’s entry will be a joint project involving public broadcasters in the Netherlands, the board of the public broadcasting association NPO said on Wednesday.
Until recently, it appeared that the Netherlands would boycott Eurovision again due to Israel’s participation, underscoring its opposition to Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.
AVROTROS, the public broadcaster previously responsible for the Dutch entry, announced in August that it would not take part in the competition, saying Eurovision was “no longer neutral”.
The company stated that it could no longer justify participating alongside Israel given the ongoing humanitarian crisis and human suffering in the Palestinian enclave.
After AVROTROS stepped aside as the organiser, NPO said it intends to form a team responsible for selecting the country’s participating artist.
Dutch news broadcaster NOS will handle the broadcasting of the semi-finals and the final.
Last week, Ireland announced that it would not participate in Eurovision next year, also in protest against Israel.
Ireland was one of five countries that had boycotted the previous edition of the contest in Vienna.
The next will take place in May 2027 in Burgas on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast after the country’s entrant Dara won this year’s event with her song Bangaranga.
Israeli entrant Noam Bettan finished second in the 2026 contest.
Belgium also intends to be present in Bulgaria, the Flemish public broadcaster VRT announced on Wednesday.
The broadcaster had previously left its participation open.
with PA
