AVROTROS has announced that it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2027. But despite headlines suggesting that the Netherlands is withdrawing from the Contest, the situation is not quite that simple.
AVROTROS statement
AVROTROS has announced that it will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 because the event can no longer be considered neutral, with a participating country still involved in a large-scale military conflict.
“Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are having a significant impact on the Contest and have led to deep divisions.”
Over the past year, AVROTROS says it has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to establish transparent rules for the participation of countries involved in military conflicts.
However, according to the broadcaster, 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.
AVROTROS therefore says that participation is no longer consistent with its values of trustworthiness, independence and humanity.
The decision means that AVROTROS will not participate for the second consecutive year, following its withdrawal from Eurovision 2026.
Read the full AVROTROS statement
But the Netherlands has not necessarily withdrawn
There is an important distinction in the wording of today’s announcement.
AVROTROS says it will not participate. It does not say that the Netherlands, as a country, will not participate.
According to Reuters, AVROTROS has handed the decision on Dutch participation to NPO, the organisation responsible for coordinating the Dutch public broadcasting system. (Reuters)
This means that the door may still be open for another Dutch public broadcaster to take responsibility for the country’s Eurovision entry.
And that is where things get interesting.
What exactly is NPO?
For international Eurovision fans, the Dutch broadcasting system can be confusing because several organisations are involved.
NPO — Nederlandse Publieke Omroep — is the umbrella administrative organisation of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It works together with a number of independent public broadcasters, including AVROTROS, NOS and NTR. (NPO.nl)
In very simple terms:
NPO = the umbrella/coordinating organisation
AVROTROS = one of the public broadcasters
NOS = another public broadcaster, with statutory responsibilities particularly for news, sport and national events
NTR = another public broadcaster, with statutory responsibilities in areas including education and culture. (NPO.nl)
Therefore, AVROTROS leaving Eurovision does not automatically mean that NPO has to remove the Netherlands from the Contest.
The next decision is essentially: will another Dutch broadcaster take over?
Could NOS return?
The most obvious name to watch is NOS.
NOS has a remarkable Eurovision history. It was responsible for the Dutch Eurovision entry for 40 years, from 1970 until 2009.
Then the responsibility moved to TROS, which handled the Dutch participation from 2010 to 2013.
In 2014, AVRO and TROS merged to form AVROTROS, which subsequently became responsible for the Netherlands’ Eurovision participation.
The timeline is therefore:
- NOS — 1970–2009
- TROS — 2010–2013
- AVROTROS — from 2014
This makes AVROTROS’s current withdrawal particularly significant: the broadcaster has been at the centre of Dutch Eurovision participation for more than a decade.
NOS already returned in 2026
There is another important piece of the puzzle.
When AVROTROS withdrew from Eurovision 2026, NOS and NTR took over the Dutch television broadcasts of the Contest.
It was NOS’s first return to Eurovision after 16 years — although only as a broadcaster of the shows, rather than as the broadcaster responsible for a Dutch entry.
NOS and NTR’s announcement about Eurovision 2026
Could that now develop into something bigger?
Could NOS – perhaps together with NTR – take responsibility for the Netherlands’ Eurovision participation in 2027?
At this moment, there is no official confirmation that NOS will do so.
But the possibility is certainly worth watching.
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