VRT unions urge broadcaster to withdraw from Eurovision 2027

Two trade unions representing staff at Belgium’s Flemish public broadcaster VRT have urged its management to withdraw from the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, following the Netherlands’ decision not to take part.

In a joint statement, ACOD-VRT and ACV VRT called the Dutch decision “the only morally acceptable decision” and urged VRT’s management to follow suit, Nieuws.nl reported. The unions have previously called for a boycott and said they wanted to strike on the days of next year’s contest.

The Dutch public broadcaster NPO announced this week that the Netherlands would not participate, after opposition from member broadcasters and staff. The decision followed a dispute over Israel’s participation: Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS had said it would hand responsibility for the country’s entry to the NPO, citing Israel’s involvement in the contest.

ACV VRT representative Carlos van Hoeymissen said the union would be glad to collect 500 staff signatures if that was what it took to change VRT’s decision. He also questioned whether management could already tell from workplace discussions how few employees supported participation.

VRT announced last month that it planned to take part in 2027. In Belgium, the Flemish and French-speaking public broadcasters alternate responsibility for Eurovision participation each year. The contest is due to be held in Burgas, Bulgaria.