LAST UPDATE | 12 Sep 2025

THE DUTCH PUBLIC broadcaster has followed RTÉ’s lead in stating it will not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest if Israel is allowed to participate. 

In a statement, AVROTROS said that it could no longer justify Israel’s participation in Eurovision “given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza” and the “serious erosion of press freedom”.

“Human suffering, the suppression of press freedom and political interference are at odds with the values of public broadcasting,” the statement read.

The broadcaster cited the Israeli ban on international media from entering the Gaza Strip in Palestine, as well as the “many casualties among journalists”. 

AVROTROS also said its decision had come in light of “proven evidence of interference by the Israeli government during the most recent edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, in which the event was used as a political instrument”.

It said those actions run “counter to the apolitical nature of the Contest”.

“These circumstances are incompatible with the values represented by AVROTROS as a public broadcaster,” the statement said. 

The move from the Dutch broadcaster comes in light of a number of other countries suggesting they will also boycott the song contest if Israel is allowed to take part. 

Those include Slovenia, Iceland and Spain.

This afternoon, another joined the pack – the Flemish language VRT in Belgium.

While Belgium’s other national broadcaster, French-language station RTBF, is in charge of the country’s entry this year, VRT said that it “shares and supports the position of the countries that have withdrawn from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest”.

‘Unconscionable to participate’

RTÉ announced its intention to boycott the contest if Israel is not excluded yesterday. 

Reacting to the announcement, Bambie Thug, who represented Ireland at the contest last year in Sweden, said they fully supported the decision. 

“I’m proud of RTÉ and the entire delegation for making a stand and I hope this can set an example for other countries. Echoing RTÉ, it would be unconscionable to participate given the current circumstances,” they said on social media.

“I urge the EBU to make the right moral decision and protect the future of the Eurovision Song Contest.”

Charlie McGettigan, who won the song contest in 1994 alongside Paul Harrington with Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids, also backed the move. 

“Any form of protest at this point in time where we highlight the situation that’s happening in Gaza is good,” he told OceanFM’s North West Today programme.

“This is a good thing that RTÉ are registering their disagreement at what the Israeli regime is doing there… Russia are barred from Eurovision, so I could never quite figure out why Israel weren’t, seeing what they were doing.”

He praised RTÉ’s statement as “everything that should have been said in the last number of years” and said he hopes it would encourage other broadcasters to boycott the contest. 

Austria are due to host the contest next year. Roland Weißmann, the director general of broadcasting channel ORF, has said he is in favour of Israel’s participation in Vienna in 2026. 

However, according to Der Standard, several board members at the channel set to broadcast the contest do not share his view. While a majority of the broadcasters foundation board voted to endorse Weißmann’s view, there were four abstentions. 

The decision on the inclusion or exclusion of countries from the contest is in the hands of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 

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