THE HAGUE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS said Monday that it will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, arguing that the event can no longer be considered neutral while a participating country remains involved in a large-scale military conflict.
"It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division," Taco Zimmerman, director-general of AVROTROS, said in a statement.
The Netherlands, along with four other countries, has boycotted the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Austria over Israel's participation, exposing widening cracks across Europe.
AVROTROS said in the statement that over the past year it had repeatedly called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, to establish transparent rules governing the participation of countries involved in military conflicts.
Earlier this month, the EBU updated its rules, saying that if a country involved in an armed conflict wins the competition, it will be ineligible to host it the following year.
However, AVROTROS said "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."
In response, the EBU said in a statement: "We regret AVROTROS' decision to no longer participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, but understand its choice and respect the views of our member broadcasters."
The EBU added that it would continue its dialogue with NPO, the umbrella organization for Dutch public service media, regarding the possibility of another Dutch broadcaster participating in the contest.
