“It is disgusting what happened,” responds Getty Kaspers. Fifty years ago she won the festival with the band Teach In and the song ‘Ding-A-Dong’. “It’s a Eurovision Song Contest, it’s about songs and not politics. Politics has always been hot, but not like now.”
The Netherlands will not go to the Eurovision Song Contest next year
Sad decision
Lenny Kuhr calls it a sad decision to boycott the Eurovision Song Contest. “It is a missed opportunity that we stay at home.” The Brabant singer herself participated in 1969 with the song ‘De troubadour’. “When I participated, dictator Franco was still in power in Spain,” she says. “There was a lot of fuss about that, but not much. In any case, there was no question that the Netherlands would not participate for that reason. There was a certain rivalry between the camps from Barcelona and Madrid, but everyone got along very well with each other.”
Lenny Kuhr © Rias Immink
Kaspers also remembers the nice atmosphere in Stockholm. “It was pleasant and fun, but this is no longer fun now. Give me that atmosphere of 1975.”
Embracing differences
Kuhr believes that a cultural event actually creates connection. “The Eurovision Song Contest actually brings people closer together. All differences are embraced there. That is something we should cherish. By deciding not to participate, you only get a harder division among people. That should not be the case for a music festival. I would have allowed the Netherlands to travel to Vienna with a fantastic song.”
Getty Kaspers © ANP / Robert Hoetink
Katja Zwart from the Eurovision Song Contest podcast thinks that all Eurovision fans are now confused. “One agrees with AvroTros, the other does not. It is a pity that this annual party is cancelled, also because Joost Klein and Claude have given it a lot of optimism over the past two years. All this hassle will cost a lot of Eurovision enthusiasm. Fans will drop out.”
Disappointed in the EBU
She further says: “I am also disappointed in the broadcasting umbrella organization EBU about how they have handled matters. It is the first time in history that political matters have taken over like this. Because that is what it is. Ultimately it is all political, no matter how you look at it.”