Joost Klein: Eurovision disqualifies Dutch act due to incident involving a crew member

Malmö
CNN
—

The Eurovision Song Contest was thrown into fresh turmoil on Saturday when organizers disqualified the Dutch entrant hours before the grand final due to a behind-the-scenes incident involving a crew member.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the annual event, which is being held this year in Malmö, Sweden, said police were investigating the incident involving singer Joost Klein, and that it would not be appropriate for him to participate.

“Swedish police investigated a complaint made by a member of the production crew following an incident following his semi-final performance on Thursday evening. “While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the competition,” the EBU said.

“A man is suspected of making illegal threats,” a Swedish Police Authority spokeswoman said in a statement sent to CNN. The crime is said to have been committed at Malmo Arena on Thursday evening.

“the man [was] She added: “The police interrogated them, but they were not detained.”

CNN has contacted Klein’s team for comment.

Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS criticized the European Broadcasting Union for firing Klein. She said in a statement that she “considers the exclusion disproportionate and is shocked by the decision.”

The incident comes in the wake of controversy over Israel’s participation in the competition. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators continued to demonstrate daily in Malmö in the days leading up to the competition. The European Broadcasting Union said that Klein’s exclusion did not include any other artist or member of another country’s delegation.

The alleged incident involving Klein occurred on Thursday evening after the second semi-final match, the EBU said.

Then rumors started swirling around the delegations and press in Malmö on Friday afternoon when Klein did not perform as planned at rehearsal. He was scheduled to train immediately before the Israeli entry into Eden Golan, leading to unconfirmed speculation that the events were related.

Golan’s entry caused division in the competition, whose slogan is “United by Music.” The European Broadcasting Union asked Israel to modify the lyrics of his song, which was originally called “October Rain,” considering it too political.

But the contest has faced persistent calls from some pro-Palestinian fans and activists to exclude Israel entirely, pointing to Russia’s ban in 2022 following its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Thousands of demonstrators are expected to gather at Malmö Stadium for the final on Saturday evening, with the EBU facing the very real possibility that Israel will win the competition.

The atmosphere in Malmö was quiet. Swedish police deployed additional officers to the city in the wake of the tensions. Armed police appear at many intersections, and there is an additional security cordon around the hotel where the Israeli delegation is staying. Security personnel patrol the venue where official parties are held after the show.

Israel secured a place in the final on Thursday, after which Italian broadcaster RAI mistakenly revealed what appeared to be the result of the television broadcast to the public. The results showed that Israel received 39% of the public votes in Italy, which represents a landslide victory. The RAI said the results were published in error, and later said the data was “incomplete”. The EBU said it had informed RAI that the move “represents a breach of the rules”.

Bettors consider Israel the second favorite to win the competition after Croatia. Nemo of Switzerland, Solomon of France, Bambi Thug of Ireland, and Alyona Alyona and Jerry Hill of Ukraine are also among the top contenders.

The competition – which strictly adheres to its non-political slogan – has become one of the largest cultural events affected by the repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza.

The Israeli military offensive has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza since it was launched in response to Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

Many participants faced calls to express their opinions about the conflict or Israel’s involvement. Golan was booed by some sections of the audience during her performance before the jury on Wednesday evening.