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Dutch Say Won’t Participate in ‘No Longer’ Neutral Eurovision

A logo of the Eurovision Song Contest is seen in front of the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A logo of the Eurovision Song Contest is seen in front of the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Dutch Say Won’t Participate in ‘No Longer’ Neutral Eurovision

A logo of the Eurovision Song Contest is seen in front of the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A logo of the Eurovision Song Contest is seen in front of the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. (Reuters)

The Netherlands will not participate in next year's Eurovision Song Contest, its broadcaster said Monday, saying the event can "no longer be considered neutral" given divisions over the Gaza war. 

"It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division," said Taco Zimmerman, Director-General of AVROTROS in a statement from the broadcaster. 

The contest has recently been hit by a wave of boycotts over Israel's participation. 

Earlier this month, organizers announced they were excluding any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition. 

"However, the recently announced changes... do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored," said the AVROTROS statement. 

Israel came close to winning the competition in both 2025 and 2026, ultimately finishing second on each occasion. 

Next year's event, the world's biggest live televised music event, will take place on May 15 in Bulgaria's Black Sea city of Burgas. 

It will be the first time that the Balkan nation hosts the contest, coming after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year's contest in the Austrian capital Vienna with the catchy floor-filler "Bangaranga". 

Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting the likes of Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John. 

The 2026 competition was watched by 131 million viewers, down 35 million on the year before after five countries boycotted it over Israel's participation. 

The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia all pulled out of the contest -- with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all. 

The Dutch took part in the very first Eurovision Song Contest back in 1956 and have won on five occasions. 

The most recent winner was Duncan Laurence whose song Arcade won the contest in 2019, going on to top charts globally. 

It became the first Eurovision entry to reach one billion streams on Spotify, according to the Eurovision website. 

The withdrawal is "painful as we would have very much liked to be part of the Contest again next year," said Zimmerman. 

"As a public broadcaster, we remain committed to our values. They guide us in everything we do, even when that means stepping away from an event that is very close to our hearts," he added. 

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Entertainment

California Reportedly Cancels Talks with Paramount over Warner Bros Merger

FILE PHOTO: The Paramount logo is shown on a structure at the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Paramount logo is shown on a structure at the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
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California Reportedly Cancels Talks with Paramount over Warner Bros Merger

FILE PHOTO: The Paramount logo is shown on a structure at the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Paramount logo is shown on a structure at the Paramount studio lot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, February 26, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

California's Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a meeting with Paramount Skydance representatives scheduled for Monday to begin settlement talks over the state's lawsuit seeking to block Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the New York Times reported.

Citing a statement from Bonta's office, the newspaper said he accused Paramount of leaking details of a meeting held on Friday ⁠and acting in ⁠bad faith.

Here are some details:

“Not only did Paramount leak the alleged substance of settlement discussions, but they misrepresented these discussions, demonstrating a lack of good faith,” the report said, citing ⁠the statement.

Paramount and the California Attorney General's office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

The New York Times reported on Saturday talks between the two parties were preliminary, and there was no assurance that they will lead to meaningful negotiations toward a settlement.

Last month, ⁠California ⁠and 11 states sued to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging the deal would lessen competition in film distribution and cable television, harming theaters and pay TV distributors.

States including New York, Arizona and Minnesota argued the deal would harm theaters and television distributors, raise prices for consumers and make wages less competitive for workers.

Entertainment

Odyssey Effect: Stars Sell Greece to a New Wave of US Tourists

Legend has it that this is where Odysseus landed when he finally returned home to Ithaca. Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP
Legend has it that this is where Odysseus landed when he finally returned home to Ithaca. Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP
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Odyssey Effect: Stars Sell Greece to a New Wave of US Tourists

Legend has it that this is where Odysseus landed when he finally returned home to Ithaca. Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP
Legend has it that this is where Odysseus landed when he finally returned home to Ithaca. Angelos TZORTZINIS / AFP

The idyllic beaches of the Greek islands have long been a draw for European holidaymakers, but now a new wave of US tourists is waking up to their charms, driven by stars like Madonna, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.

Madonna celebrated her 68th birthday on Corfu, sharing a whirl of parties and boat trips against the backdrop of the island's landscape with her 20 million Instagram followers -- earning her rapturous thanks from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, AFP said.

And experts say the huge popularity of Christopher Nolan blockbuster "The Odyssey" will only fuel the trend -- though holidaymakers will be hoping for an easier trip home than the one endured by Matt Damon's eponymous hero.

While Madonna partied in Corfu, singer Bieber took his family to the Peloponnese. Perry and her partner, Canada's former prime minister Justin Trudeau, sampled the delights of Mykonos.

All of them chronicled their holidays on social media, giving the Greek tourism industry a massive hit of free advertising.

"Celebrities are voting for the Greek summer!" public broadcaster ERT said on Friday, devoting a report to these stars from across the Atlantic.

The newspaper To Vima hailed this "new wave" which "helps raise the country's international profile". It cited British singer and actress Rita Ora, who shared her holidays with "her millions of followers" on social media.

Paris Tsartas, professor of tourism development at Harokopio University in Athens, told AFP the deluge of celebrity endorsements gave Greece a powerful boost as a summer destination -- particularly with the lucrative American market.

After a decade of financial woes following the debt crisis of 2009, and the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic, Greece has pumped money into the sector, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of GDP, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE).

Around 1.55 million Americans visited Greece in 2025. They represent the third-largest source of tourism income, behind Germans and Britons, according to SETE, with an average spend per tourist of 1,120 euros ($1,300).

To answer growing demand, the main US airlines have significantly stepped up services, American Airlines increasing its total available seat capacity by 30 percent compared with summer 2025.

And this year Greece has had its highest-ever number of direct flights, with 103 connections a week between Athens and the United States.

- Set-jetting -

Some of the new enthusiasm is driven by the phenomenon of "set-jetting" -- people travelling to a destination after seeing it in a movie or TV series.

In a study for online travel giant Expedia, 13 percent of American travelers said they had booked a trip after seeing a destination on screen.

Greece is well acquainted with the trend, after hit musical "Mamma Mia", filmed on the island of Skopelos, triggered a jump in American visitors.

Professor Tsartas predicted "The Odyssey" would have a similar impact.

Key parts of Nolan's film, recounting the travails of Damon's Odysseus as he seeks to return home from the Trojan war to his wife Penelope, played by Anne Hathaway, were shot in the Peloponnese region of Greece.

According to EasyJet Holidays, cited by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, bookings to Greece increased by 18 percent in the weeks following the film's international release in mid-July.

And there is more small-screen exposure for Greece's charms to come: Netflix had chosen the country for the sixth season of hit series "Emily in Paris".

Lead actress Lily Collins and the rest of the production team were spotted this spring in Mykonos, Paros and Santorini.

Entertainment

'Baby Shark' Boy Returns to Stage as K-pop Singer

Fans arrive to attend a concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids, which kicked off the band’s “Run It” world tour, in Seoul on July 25, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
Fans arrive to attend a concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids, which kicked off the band’s “Run It” world tour, in Seoul on July 25, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
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'Baby Shark' Boy Returns to Stage as K-pop Singer

Fans arrive to attend a concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids, which kicked off the band’s “Run It” world tour, in Seoul on July 25, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)
Fans arrive to attend a concert by K-pop boy band Stray Kids, which kicked off the band’s “Run It” world tour, in Seoul on July 25, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP)

The child star of the "Baby Shark Dance" video, the most-watched video in YouTube history, released his first K-pop digital single on Thursday, a decade after he first found fame.

Park Geonroung, who starred in the video when he was 7 years old, will make his solo K-pop debut under the name "Baby Shark Boy" and is backed by Pinkfong Company which owns the copyright for Baby Shark.

"Baby Shark Dance brought ⁠joy to people ⁠around the world, and I’m very grateful that so many people still remember me from 10 years ago. That made me want to come back and connect with people through music again," Reuters quoted him as saying.

The catchy song, ⁠which is about a family of sharks, was released in 2016 and the video has since surpassed 17.2 billion views. It has been played at the White House and praised by US President Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and celebrities, while prompting parodies and a dance craze.

In the years since the video, Park has starred in Pinkfong's other shows. He ⁠said ⁠his new digital single, titled "WAVE,” opens with the familiar Baby Shark melody before shifting into an electropop sound, to which he contributed lyrics.

Park added that he views the single as the start of a longer musical journey. "WAVE feels more like a new beginning than a one-off project. I hope to keep showing different sides of myself through music as well as other kinds of content,” he said.