Following a vote held by the EBU which confirmed that Israel will be permitted to participate in Vienna the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS has become the first broadcaster to confirm their withdrawal from Eurovision 2026.

In a statement they said:

AVROTROS has decided not to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026. This decision follows a careful and extensive deliberation process in which we consulted a broad range of stakeholders: from the Israeli ambassador to Amnesty Interntational, from the EBU to several European public broadcasters, as well as our own Association Council, Works Council, Supervisory Board, and the many thousands of Eurovision fans who reached out to us. After weighing all perspectives, AVROTROS concludes that, under the current circumstances participation cannot be reconciled with the public values that are fundamental to our organization. This decision was taken in close coordination with the Dutch Public Broadcasting (NPO), which respects and supports the conclusions we have drawn.

AVROTROS