During a live, two-hour show hosted by Paul de Leeuw, the Netherlands will select its participant for the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest during the NOS Nationaal Songfestival 2006. Three internally selected artists will all perform three songs. A jury will select the best song of each artist, the television viewers will finally decide who will represent the Netherlands at the upcoming contest during a super-final.

After continuous disappointing results and decreasing popularity, broadcaster NOS decided to restyle the national selection into a more modern, young and spectacular format. The new format has been widely accepted and positively rated by the press so far, as a new team of NOS, the artists' managers and record companies are “eager to bring the Netherlands its fifth Eurovision Song Contest victory”.

1. Treble
The three girls of Treble will kick off tonight, singing Lama Gaia, Amambanda and Make your choice. Caroline and the sisters Niña and Djem met in 1995 and started to sing in their own made up language and play on their percussion instruments on the streets. In 2003, they have a big hit in the Netherlands with Ramagana. In case they win tonight, they promised to visit all participating countries in the upcoming months to promote their Eurovision Song Contest entry.

2. Behave
Pop-rock band Behave will sing L.A. baby, Heaven knows and Maybe tomorrow. They were discovered by radio channel 3FM and had a small hit with High on you. They won the prestigeous Essent Music Award and played at the Noorderslag Festival. Their manager, Stacy Rookhuizen, is an ambitious 19-year old girl with her own record label!

3. Maud
The 2004 Idols runner-up Maud will sing Without your love, I'm alive and One more try. Apart from a singing career, Maud plays hockey on high-level. She took part in Idols two years ago, where Boris, who took part in the Dutch 2003 Eurovision Song Contest national selection, took victory.

Esctoday.com will be present at the Dutch final, which takes place in Amsterdam's Heineken Music Hall. Apart from the results, available through esctoday.com moments after the show, a photo report will be available as from tomorrow morning. You can already find a gallery of yesterday's stage rehearsals here.

Due to Glennis Grace her disappointing result in Kyiv, the Netherlands will have to enter the semifinal on 18th May in Athens, Greece.

live stream

You can follow the event, starting at 21:00 CET, through the web stream. The press conference, scheduled to start around 23:00 CET, will also be streamed online.