NPO drops plan to send an entry to Eurovision 2027
The public service broadcaster NPO has dropped its plan to send an entry to the 2027 song contest, saying broadcasters do not back it, but the show will still be broadcast in the Netherlands.
The NPO has withdrawn its decision to send an entry to the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, after talks with the College van Omroepen, the council of broadcasters. "After talks with broadcasters, there is currently insufficient support to take part in 2027," the NPO said in a statement. It said it is pressing the "pause button" on preparations.
The contest will still be shown on Dutch public broadcasting, with Dutch commentary and a preview show, the NPO said.
The NPO decided at the end of September that the Netherlands would return, even though AvroTros, the broadcaster responsible for the Dutch entry for years, had decided not to take part because of Israel's participation and the war in Gaza. Hundreds of NPO employees then sent a protest letter urging the NPO not to take part.
NPO chair Jet de Ranitz said the NPO still believes the contest belongs on public broadcasting and wants to take part later. The NPO could have told the NTR, a broadcaster with a legal task to fill gaps in programming, to organise the entry. It chose not to. "If we conclude that the subject is so sensitive that it causes such divided reactions, I think it would be irresponsible to oblige a broadcaster to take on the organisation of 2027," she said.
Tweede Kamer member Mohammed Mohandis called staying out "an unavoidable decision". He said AvroTros's decision should have been respected, not least because the NPO holds no broadcasting licence and so cannot guide a Dutch entry itself. Without the support of other broadcasters, he said, there was no legal basis to overrule AvroTros.
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest, finds it "very unfortunate". Eurovision director Martin Green said: "We understand their decision and respect the strong feelings behind it in the Netherlands."
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NPO (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep)
The organisation that runs Dutch public broadcasting: it manages the public television channels, radio stations and online services on which the public broadcasters air their programmes.
College van Omroepen
The College van Omroepen (Council of Broadcasters) is the body where the broadcasting organisations of the Dutch public broadcasting system consult and coordinate on shared matters. It is the forum in which these broadcasters reach joint positions, including in talks with the NPO, the umbrella organisation that coordinates public broadcasting in the Netherlands.
AVROTROS
AVROTROS is a Dutch public broadcasting association that makes television and radio programmes within the public broadcasting system overseen by the NPO. It is the broadcaster that has produced the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years, so its decisions on participation directly affect whether the Netherlands takes part.
Tweede Kamer
The House of Representatives, the lower and more powerful house of the Dutch parliament. Its 150 members are elected directly; it can amend bills and holds the cabinet to account.