Belgian trade unions demand that VRT withdraw from Eurovision 2027

Trade unions oppose VRT's participation

Trade unions of the Belgian public broadcaster VRT on Tuesday called on management to reconsider the decision to take part in Eurovision 2027 and follow the example of the Netherlands, whose public broadcasters announced that the country will not participate in next year's contest. The report comes from Anadolu.

Demands and strike notice

The unions urged management not to wait for further staff action before reversing the decision. 'Perhaps our management also needs 500 employee signatures first before it cancels its decision. In that case, we will gladly collect them,' said Carlos Van Heijmissen of the ACV-VRT union. According to him, conversations with employees showed that support for VRT's participation in the contest is limited. The ACOD-VRT union called the Dutch broadcaster NPO's decision to withdraw 'the only morally acceptable decision,' since Israel continues to take part in the contest. Both unions have already filed a strike notice for the Eurovision broadcast dates — 11, 13 and 15 May 2027 — in protest against VRT's decision to send a contestant.

Context

Israel's participation in Eurovision has prompted growing calls for a boycott and pressure on broadcasters to withdraw from the contest. According to Anadolu, since October 2023 more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 175,000 wounded in Gaza, and about 90% of the enclave's civilian infrastructure has been destroyed. The reaction of VRT management to the unions' demands and the likelihood of the participation decision being reconsidered remain unknown.