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The EBU says a temporary arrangement that kept Dutch delegation head Claudia van der Pas on Eurovision’s governing group expired this summer.
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The Netherlands no longer has a seat on the Reference Group, which oversees the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of participating broadcasters. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) says the Dutch place was lost because the country did not take part in the contest, Nieuws.nl reports, citing comments made to the Dutch news agency ANP. [1]
Claudia van der Pas was elected in 2025 to a two-year term representing national delegation heads. After Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS withdrew that December, the Reference Group moved her to a temporary wildcard place, the EBU says. That place expired in summer 2026. [1]
Spain also sat out the contest, but its representative, Ana María Bordas, remains chair of the group. The EBU says her term runs until June 2027. Bordas and Van der Pas held different positions within the group. [1]
The EBU is working on plans for a committee to replace the Reference Group, whose future beyond summer 2027 is unclear. Van der Pas says she would be open to working on the next Dutch entry, but the NPO has yet to decide whether she will be part of its team. [1]
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