The Netherlands has been given an extension by the European Broadcastion Union (EBU) to decide whether they will compete in next year’s contest in Bulgaria. Normally the decision needs to be made before September 15. The Dutch will decide before the end of this month.
AVROTROS says no
The Dutch national broadcaster is one of the few national public broadcasters that consists of more than one organization. Since 2010 the TV organization AVRTROS organizes everything for the Netherlands to compete in Eurovision, like choosing the contestant, but because of the participation of Israel in the 2026 contest, and rules of the contest that do not fit their family-friendly image, they decided on not competing in the 2026 contest, leaving the Netherlands with a non-participation.
Another TV organization might step in
It is now up to the Dutch national broadcaster, NPO, and the EBU to seek another TV organization that might want to step in. There are still six different organizations left that might be able to do it, and there is even one commercial organization that might want to step in. So, the final decision has not been made yet…