The song was performed by Duncan Laurence, who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to represent the Netherlands at the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Laurence's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 21 January 2019, while the song, "Arcade", was presented to the public on 7 March 2019.

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.

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, making it the most successful Dutch result in the contest since its victory in 1975.

[8] Artists that were rumoured in Dutch media to be in talks with AVROTROS included singer Caro Emerald and the winner of the sixth series of the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland Maan,[8][9] while polls conducted by Dutch entertainment portal RTL Boulevard and Eurovision website songfestivalweblog.nl were both won by the band Kensington and followed respectively by singers Samantha Steenwijk and Sharon den Adel.

[12] The proposal of Laurence as the Dutch representative came from Ilse DeLange, who previously represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as a member of the Common Linnets, while the selection occurred through the decision of a selection commission consisting of singer and television host Jan Smit, television host and author Cornald Maas, radio DJ Daniël Dekker and AVROTROS general director Eric van Stade.

During the writing process of "Arcade", I received help from Joel Sjöö and Wouter Hardy, and because of that it developed into a shared story and not just my own.

[23] The Dutch performance featured Laurence wearing a blue outfit consisting of a jacket, shirt and trousers, and playing an electric piano alone on stage with a single spotlight focused on the singer to re-create the emotions and feelings he had when he first wrote "Arcade".

[24][25] A white light sphere descended from the ceiling during the second chorus and bridge of the song to symbolize the hope Laurence lost and sought to find again.

[25] Laurence was joined by three off-stage backing vocalists: Kris Rietveld, Marcel Swerissen and Sarina Voorn.

Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency.

This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.

The following members comprised the Dutch jury:[35] Media related to Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 at Wikimedia Commons