From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 24, 2026
Netherlands says it will boycott Eurovision to protest Israel for second year in row
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Dutch public broadcaster AvroTros says it will boycott the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest for a second year in protest at the presence of Israel, citing the situation in Gaza and what it calls a lack of clear rules for excluding countries involved in military conflicts.
“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,” says AvroTros Director Taco Zimmerman in a statement from the broadcaster.
The contest has recently been hit by a wave of boycotts over Israel’s participation.
Earlier this month, organizers announced they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.
“The recently announced changes by the European Broadcasting Union do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored,” AvroTros says.
Israel came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion.
Next year’s event, the world’s biggest live televised music event, will take place on May 15 in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Burgas.
The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all pulled out of the 2026 contest — with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.
The withdrawal is “painful as we would have very much liked to be part of the Contest again next year,” says Zimmerman.
The Times of Israel Community.