Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Burning Daylight" performed by Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper. The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS internally selected the Dutch entry for the 2023 contest. Nicolai and Cooper's appointment as the Dutch representatives was announced on 1 November 2022, while the song, "Burning Daylight", was presented to the public on 1 March 2023.

Eurovision Song Contest 2023
Country Netherlands
National selection
Selection processInternal selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 1 November 2022
Song: 1 March 2023
Selected entrantMia Nicolai and Dion Cooper
Selected song"Burning Daylight"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Michaja Nicolaï
  • Dion Cuiper
  • Duncan de Moor
  • Jordan Garfield
  • Loek van der Grinten
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (13th)
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2022 • 2023 • 2024►

The Netherlands was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 14, "Burning Daylight" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that the Netherlands placed 13th out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 7 points.

Background
Main article: Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2023 contest, the Netherlands had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixty-two times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural contest in 1956. Since then, the country has won the event five times: in 1957 with the song "Net als toen" by Corry Brokken, in 1959 with the song "'n Beetje" by Teddy Scholten, in 1969 as one of the four countries to tie for first place with "De troubadour" by Lenny Kuhr, in 1975 with "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In, and in 2019 with "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence.[1] Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, the Netherlands has featured in nine finals. The country ended last on five occasions, most recently in the second semi-final of the 2011 contest. In 2022, the nation qualified for the final and finished 11th with "De diepte" by S10.

The Dutch national broadcaster, AVROTROS, broadcasts the event within the Netherlands and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Netherlands has used various methods to select the Dutch entry in the past, such as the Nationaal Songfestival, a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. However, internal selections have also been held on numerous occasions. Since 2013, the broadcaster has internally selected the Dutch entry for the contest. In 2013, the internal selection of Anouk performing "Birds" managed to take the country to the final for the first time in eight years and placed ninth overall. In 2014, the internal selection of the Common Linnets performing "Calm After the Storm" qualified the nation to the final once again and placed second, while the internal selection of Duncan Laurence in 2019 managed to achieve a Dutch victory for the first time since 1975. For 2023, the broadcaster opted to continue selecting the Dutch entry through an internal selection.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

Following S10's eleventh place in the final in 2022 with "De diepte", AVROTROS revealed that they would continue to internally select both the artist and song for the Eurovision Song Contest. A submission period was opened by the broadcaster on 17 May 2022 where artists and composers were able to submit their entries until 31 August 2022. Each artist and songwriter was able to submit a maximum of three songs, which were judged by a selection committee consisting of AVROTROS general director Eric van Stade, television presenter and author Cornald Maas, singer and television presenter Jan Smit, radio DJs Hila Noorzai, Carolien Borgers and Sander Lantinga.[2]

AVROTROS announced Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper as the Dutch entrants on 1 November 2022.[3] Nicolai and Cooper's entry were selected from four entries shortlisted among nearly 400 submissions received by the broadcaster, one of which was performed by Dani van Velthoven, winner of the eleventh season of the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland.[4][5] Some controversy emerged after the selection, as it was alleged that Nicolai had already been informed she would represent the country right after the opening of the submission period, which AVROTROS claimed to be false.[6]

Nicolai and Cooper's song for the contest, "Burning Daylight", was revealed on 1 March 2023, during the talk show Khalid en Sophie on NPO 1.[7] The song was co-written by Duncan Laurence (winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019), Jordan Garfield and Loek van der Grinten.[8]

Promotion

Nicolai and Cooper first performed "Burning Daylight" for a live audience on 8 April 2023 at the PrePartyES pre-party in Madrid, Spain.[9] Their performance was covered by multiple Dutch media outlets, which criticised them for being "out of tune".[10][11][12][13] Nicolai and Cooper attributed their vocal issues to technical problems with their in-ear monitors.[14] They performed the song for the second time on 15 April 2023 at the Eurovision in Concert pre-party in Amsterdam.[15] This second performance also had a largely negative response.[16][17][18][19]

AVROTROS responded to the criticism, stating that it acknowledged that the performances were "not good" and that it would be working to improve the act.[20] Following the negative reception, Jan Smit announced that he would leave the selection committee, revealing that he had opposed the selection of Nicolai and Cooper, despite reports from AVROTROS that the selection had been a unanimous choice; Smit later clarified that his decision to leave the committee was not related to the selection.[21]

Before departing for Liverpool, Nicolai and Cooper gave a televised live performance of "Burning Daylight" on 28 April, during Khalid en Sophie.[22] They later revealed that they would raise the song's key by three semitones for their Eurovision performance, to better fit their vocal ranges.[23]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. The Netherlands was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 9 May 2023, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[24]

Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. The Netherlands was set to perform in position 14, following the entry from the Czech Republic and before the entry from Finland.[25]

At the end of the show, the Netherlands was not among the ten countries announced as qualifiers for the final, making it the first time since 2015 that the country failed to advance from the semi-finals. It was later revealed that the Netherlands placed 13th out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 7 points.

Points awarded to Netherlands
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