The Netherlands will return to Eurovision in 2027, after pulling out this year over the participation of Israel.
Dutch public broadcaster NPO has taken over the reins after broadcaster AVROTROS announced earlier this year the country would not send a participant.
“The Song Contest was originally founded to bring people in Europe together. to bring together after the Second World War. We are seeking that connection again now,” Jet de Ranitz, of NPO’s executive board, said in a statement.
The Netherlands was one of five countries that refused to enter last year’s competition in response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, although the contest in Austria was still shown on Dutch TV by public broadcaster NPO. Ireland has said it will stay away again in 2027, with Spain likely to follow suit.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has since changed its rules to ban winning countries from hosting the following year’s event if they are involved in a “sensitive geopolitical situation” that affects the “security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region”.
