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Belgium's Flemish public broadcaster VRT has warned it is unlikely to send an artist to the Eurovision Song Contest next year unless the European Broadcasting Union overhauls its participation policies, adding a new voice to a wave of broadcaster dissatisfaction engulfing the contest as it unfolds this week in Vienna amid a coordinated boycott by five nations over Israel's inclusion.
VRT spokesperson Yasmine Van der Borght said 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. "Under current conditions, the likelihood of VRT sending an artist next year is low," she said.
The broadcaster said ongoing disputes over Israel's participation and the EBU's decision-making processes have gone unanswered, and called specifically for a more transparent mechanism within those processes, including the right of member broadcasters to vote directly on participation questions.
VRT has raised similar objections in previous years and has previously indicated it would reconsider its involvement if the EBU did not change course.
Belgium's Eurovision participation alternates annually between VRT and RTBF, the country's French-language public broadcaster. RTBF held the mandate this year and sent a representative to Vienna.
VRT's statement comes as Eurovision faces its most severe wave of broadcaster withdrawals in more than five decades. Five countries, Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland, have officially pulled out of the 2026 contest, the largest coordinated withdrawal since 1970.
All five cited Israel's participation, which the EBU confirmed at its December 2025 general assembly after member broadcasters declined to hold a direct vote on the matter.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS accused Israel of what it described as proven interference in last year's contest, alongside serious violations of press freedom during the Gaza war, and said participation could not be reconciled with its public values.
Ireland's RTE called continued participation "unconscionable" given the civilian death toll in Gaza. Slovenia's RTV SLO, which replaced its Eurovision broadcast slot with programming honoring Palestinian victims, said its decision was based on calls from local artists, public opinion, and a commitment to human compassion.
Spain's RTVE said the situation in Gaza and what it described as the use of the contest for political purposes had made it increasingly difficult to preserve Eurovision as a neutral cultural event. Iceland's RUV followed suit in December, citing deep public unease with the EBU's decision.
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Within Belgium, the pressure on both broadcasters has been substantial. Trade unions at VRT and RTBF placed wooden figures in their shared building on Reyerslaan in February bearing the message "Boycott Eurovision," a campaign they described as their third consecutive year of action on the issue.
Lawmakers from the PTB and Ecolo parties urged RTBF not to send a contestant and called on VRT not to air the contest, with PTB lawmaker Nabil Boukili drawing a pointed comparison to the EBU's swift suspension of Russian broadcaster VGTRK following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Beyond Belgium, more than a thousand artists signed an open letter titled "No Music for Genocide," calling on public broadcasters, performers, fans, and production crews to withhold support until Israel is removed from the contest.
The EBU, which describes Eurovision as a celebration of music and unity and insists it remains apolitical, has maintained that a large majority of its members agreed no further vote on Israel's participation was necessary and that the contest should proceed as planned.
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