Belgium’s Flemish public broadcaster VRT said this week it is unlikely to send an artist to Eurovision 2027 unless the European Broadcasting Union overhauls how it handles participation and the conflict over Israel’s place in the contest. The warning puts fresh pressure on the EBU after a wave of broadcaster withdrawals from the 2026 contest.
“Under current conditions, the likelihood of VRT sending an artist next year is low,” spokesperson Yasmine Van der Borght said, adding that the broadcaster expects the EBU “to take a firm stance against war and violence and to establish a clear framework grounded in respect for human rights.” VRT also called for a more transparent decision-making process inside the EBU, including the right of member broadcasters to vote directly on participation questions.
The Belgian warning lands as five countries — Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Iceland — have already formally pulled out of the 2026 contest, a coordinated withdrawal described as the largest since 1970. The EBU confirmed Israel’s participation at its December 2025 general assembly after member broadcasters declined to hold a direct vote on the matter, a decision that has become the focal point of the broader backlash.
Several of the departing broadcasters have tied their exits directly to the war in Gaza and to concerns about whether Eurovision can still function as a neutral cultural event. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS accused Israel of proven interference in last year’s contest and of serious violations of press freedom during the Gaza war. Ireland’s RTE called continued participation unconscionable given the civilian death toll in Gaza. Spain’s RTVE said the situation in Gaza and the use of the contest for political purposes had made it increasingly difficult to preserve Eurovision as neutral. Slovenia’s RTV SLO cited appeals from local artists, public opinion and human compassion, while Iceland’s RUV pointed to deep public unease with the EBU’s decision.
Belgium’s own response has been building for months. Trade unions at VRT and RTBF placed wooden figures in their shared building on Reyerslaan in February carrying the message “Boycott Eurovision.” Lawmakers from the PTB and Ecolo parties later urged RTBF not to send a contestant and called on VRT not to air the contest. PTB lawmaker Nabil Boukili compared the EBU’s response with “the EBU’s swift suspension of Russian broadcaster VGTRK following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.” More than a thousand artists also signed an open letter titled “No Music for Genocide.”
Belgium’s Eurovision participation alternates annually between VRT and RTBF, and RTBF held the mandate this year, sending a representative to Vienna. VRT has raised similar objections in previous years and had already signaled it would reconsider its role if the EBU did not change course. The latest warning suggests the issue is no longer confined to protest statements or internal lobbying. Eurovision is now facing its most severe wave of broadcaster withdrawals in more than five decades, and Belgium’s Flemish broadcaster is signaling that it may be next unless the rules change first.
