He won’t be on stage. Although he intended to represent his country, the Netherlands, this Saturday, May 11 in Malmö for the final of Eurovision 2024, Joost Klein was excluded from the competition by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), organizer of the event. The blame lies in an “incident” for which the artist had already been suspended the day before, Friday, May 10.
It is the first time since the competition’s creation in 1956 that a candidate has been excluded from the final.
- A complaint filed after a “threatening movement”
The EBU said in a statement that Swedish police are investigating “a complaint made by a member of the production team following an incident that occurred after her performance in the semi-final on Thursday night.” A police investigation is underway.
“While the judicial procedure continues, it would not be appropriate for him to continue participating in the competition,” stated the organization, recalling that it applies “a policy of zero tolerance regarding inappropriate behavior.”
What happened? Le concurrent néerlandais, qui se précipitait vers les loges après la demi-finale, a “indiqué à plusieurs reprises qu’il ne souhaitait pas être filmé. Cela n’a pas été respecté”, selon Avrotros, le diffuseur de l’événement aux Netherlands.
“This prompted a threatening movement from Joost towards the cameraman. Joost did not touch the cameraman,” the public broadcaster insisted in a statement.
- No connection to Israel
On Thursday, May 9, during the press conference that followed the semifinal of the competition that aims to be apolitical, Joost Klein, 26 years old and with peroxide hair, drew attention by expressing his disagreement with the fact of being placed next to to the Israeli representative. Eden Golan. In particular, he had apparently covered his face on several occasions with the Dutch flag.
His exclusion, however, has nothing to do with his attitude towards other delegations, the EBU stressed.
The Israeli singer Eden Golan, 20, got her ticket to the final on Thursday night with the song Hurricane, whose initial version had to be modified because it was considered to allude to the Hamas attack that bloodied Israel on October 7. On Saturday she was second among the favorites behind Croatia.
- A disqualification considered “disproportionate” by the Netherlands
Dutch broadcaster Avrotros considered the exclusion of Joost Klein “disproportionate”. In a statement, the organization said it was “shocked by the decision” of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Dutch public broadcaster NPO called the decision “very radical.” “This is a disappointment for millions of Eurovision fans in the Netherlands and other European countries,” he said.
“We will carefully evaluate the course of events after the Eurovision Song Contest with Avrotros, the EBU and all other parties involved,” he added.
Questioned by BFMTV, several fans of the singer who had traveled to Malmö expressed their “sadness” and “disappointment.” In addition, a petition against the Dutchman’s exclusion has collected thousands of signatures, AFP highlights.
- What are the consequences for competition?
Despite the exclusion of Joost Klein, the Eurovision 2024 final will take place from 9 p.m. If the order of performance is not changed, there will be no song 5, the number assigned to the Netherlands, the organization announced. Therefore, the telehook will go directly from song 4 (from Luxembourg) to song 6 (from Israel).
The scores awarded by the jury during the second dress rehearsal on Friday were also recalculated so that Holland received no points, according to the organization.
Dutch viewers can still vote in the final and the Dutch jury remains. But the Netherlands will not receive points in the final and the country will not appear in the table with all the results of the night.
Source: BFM TV
