Anouk's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 17 October 2012, while the song, "Birds", was presented to the public on 11 March 2013.

Performing during the show in position 8, "Birds" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 16 May.

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.

"[11] On 11 March 2013, Anouk's Eurovision entry, "Birds", was presented to the public during a press conference that took place in Hilversum.

[12][13] The song was premiered at the same time during the Radio Sterren programme LuiLekkerLucas, hosted by Lucas van Leeuwen.

[14] "Birds" was written by Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk herself, and was featured as part of her upcoming album Sad Singalong Songs.

[15] 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.

On 17 January 2013, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.

[17] The two semi-finals and the final was broadcast in the Netherlands on Nederland 1 and BVN with commentary by Jan Smit and Daniël Dekker.

The stage transitioned from dark to lighter tones with spotlights on the performers as well as birds and colorful motives projecting on the background.

This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

Jeroen Nieuwenhuize (DJ) and André de Graaf (music publisher) replaced van Tijn and Maas for the final in accordance with the rules of the 2013 contest.