The Netherlands pulls out of Eurovision 2027 due to Israel ‘sensitivities’

Dutch withdrawal is the latest in a number of boycotts by countries unhappy about Israel’s inclusion.

Activists gather to demonstrate against Israel's participation in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna on May 16, 2026 [Heinz-Peter Bader/Getty Images]

The Netherlands has withdrawn from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, its public broadcaster NPO has confirmed, citing “sensitivities” over Israel’s participation.

“We have known for some time that Israel’s participation elicits various reactions in society and causes discussion and division,” the NPO’s media director Jurre Bosman said in a statement.

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list 4 of 4 Ireland boycotts Eurovision for second year over Israel’s inclusion

“Therefore, after consultation with the board of broadcasters, the NPO has decided to forgo participation in 2027.”

The announcement follows a decision in August by Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to boycott the competition. AVROTROS, which usually selects the Netherlands’ entry and broadcasts the show, said the event could “no longer be considered neutral”.

NPO stepped in last month, saying it would take responsibility for the Dutch entry to the competition, before reversing course on Tuesday.

Jet de Ranitz, NPO’s executive chairman, acknowledged that the decision would disappoint fans but stressed that the contest would still be aired on public channels.

“Due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play, we have decided to take a step back for the time being,” De Ranitz said.

The announcement follows the Netherlands’ boycott of the 2026 edition. Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all pulled out, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.

In August, the organisers announced that countries would be unable to host the competition if “an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region.”

But that has not prevented withdrawals, with Ireland already having announced that it will not be participating in next year’s contest for the second year in a row.

Earlier this month, the Czech broadcaster also pulled out of next year’s event, but cited spending cuts as the reason.

Bulgaria will host next year’s edition of Eurovision for the first time in the Black Sea city of Burgas, after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria, with her catchy floor-filler ‘Bangaranga’.

Since its first edition in 1956, Eurovision has become the world’s biggest live televised music event. It catapulted Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting artists such as Celine Dion and Olivia Newton-John.

荷兰退出是众多对以色列加入感到不满的国家发起的抵制行动中的最新一起。

2026年5月16日，活动人士聚集在维也纳，抗议以色列参加今年的欧洲歌唱大赛。[Heinz-Peter Bader/Getty Images]

荷兰公共广播公司NPO证实，荷兰已退出明年的欧洲歌唱大赛，理由是以色列参赛存在“敏感性”。

“我们早就知道，以色列的参与会在社会上引起各种反应，并导致讨论和分裂，”非营利组织媒体总监尤尔·博斯曼在一份声明中说。

以色列在欧洲歌唱大赛中获得亚军，遭遇抵制和强烈反对（共4个名单，这是第1个）。

列表 2（共 4 个）“正义得以伸张”：荷兰是否正在改变其对以色列的立场？

欧洲歌唱大赛将禁止交战国举办的四项提案中的第三项：这意味着什么

爱尔兰因以色列参赛，连续第二年抵制欧洲歌唱大赛（共4条记录，此为第4条）。

“因此，在与广播公司董事会协商后，NPO决定放弃参加2027年的比赛。”

此前，荷兰广播公司AVROTROS于8月决定抵制该项赛事。AVROTROS通常负责选拔荷兰参赛选手并播出比赛，该公司表示，该赛事“已不再具有中立性”。

NPO 上个月介入此事，表示将负责荷兰参加该项赛事，但在周二改变了主意。

NPO执行主席杰特·德·拉尼茨承认，这一决定会让粉丝失望，但他强调，比赛仍将在公共频道播出。

德·拉尼茨说：“鉴于目前所涉及的主题的敏感性，我们决定暂时退一步。”

此前，荷兰已宣布抵制2026年世界杯。冰岛、西班牙、爱尔兰和斯洛文尼亚也相继退出，其中后三个国家甚至拒绝转播该赛事。

8 月，组织者宣布，如果“武装冲突、敏感的地缘政治局势或任何其他情况对一个国家或其周边地区的安全、保障或稳定造成实质性影响”，则该国将无法举办比赛。

但这并未阻止其他国家退出比赛，爱尔兰已经宣布将连续第二年不参加明年的比赛。

本月初，捷克广播公司也宣布退出明年的活动，但给出的理由是经费削减。

保加利亚歌手达琳娜·约托娃（艺名达拉）凭借其朗朗上口的舞曲《Bangaranga》赢得了今年在奥地利维也纳举行的欧洲歌唱大赛冠军，保加利亚将于明年首次在黑海城市布尔加斯举办欧洲歌唱大赛。

自1956年首届举办以来，欧洲歌唱大赛已成为全球规模最大的电视直播音乐盛事。它使瑞典偶像乐队ABBA享誉全球，同时也提携了席琳·迪翁和奥利维亚·纽顿-约翰等艺术家。