VRT Warns on Ebu Eurovision Entry as Five Countries Quit 2026
VRT says the likelihood of sending an artist to ebu next year is low unless the European Broadcasting Union changes its participation policies. The Flemish broadcaster tied that warning to the dispute over Israel's place in the contest and to the way member broadcasters make decisions.
Yasmine Van der Borght said, “Under current conditions, the likelihood of VRT sending an artist next year is low.” She said VRT expects the EBU to take a firm stance against war and violence and to establish a clear framework grounded in respect for human rights.
Reyerslaan Pressure Builds
Belgium's entry rotates annually between VRT and RTBF, so a refusal from the Flemish broadcaster would shape one of the country's recurring spots in the contest. RTBF held Belgium's Eurovision mandate this year and sent a representative to Vienna, leaving VRT with the next turn in the cycle.
Five countries have already pulled out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest: Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland. That makes the withdrawal the largest coordinated broadcaster break since 1970, and it leaves Eurovision entering its next cycle with a boycott that now spans five nations.
EBU Vote And Israel
The EBU confirmed Israel's participation at its December 2025 general assembly after member broadcasters declined to hold a direct vote on the question. VRT said disputes over Israel's participation and the EBU's decision-making processes have gone unanswered, and it called for a more transparent mechanism that gives member broadcasters the right to vote directly on participation questions.
That demand is narrower than a general protest. It targets how the EBU decides who gets to compete, which is the point that now governs whether Belgium sends an artist next year or sits out a contest shaped by five withdrawals and no direct vote.
Belgium's Next Move
Trade unions at VRT and RTBF already staged their third consecutive year of action on the issue in February, placing wooden figures in their shared building on Reyerslaan with the message Boycott Eurovision. More than a thousand artists have also signed the open letter No Music for Genocide, while PTB lawmaker Nabil Boukili compared the EBU's position with its swift suspension of Russian broadcaster VGTRK after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
For Belgium, the practical takeaway is simple: if the EBU keeps its current rules, VRT is signaling it is likely to leave its turn in the rotation empty. That would turn a broadcaster dispute into a scheduling decision for an entire country.
