As of: May 13, 2024 4:59 p.m
Dutch artist Joost Klein will not take part in the grand final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Due to an incident, the European Broadcasting Union banned him from the competition.
On the Monday after the ESC final there will be new information about the incident with Joost Klein. According to Swedish police, the Dutch singer is likely to face charges. Police said he was probably charged with making illegal threats. The investigation has been completed and a decision on charges should be made within a few weeks, said Swedish police press spokesman Jimmy Modin. He did not provide details about the nature of the alleged threats Klein is accused of making. Malmö daily Sydsvenskan reported that a conviction on the threat charge usually results in a fine. Joost Klein is said to have already left Sweden.
Statement from the EBU on the exclusion of Joost Klein
Since Friday, the Joost Klein incident has concerned not only the Swedish police, but also the EBU. A statement from the European Broadcasting Union said on Saturday afternoon that Swedish police had investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production team following an incident following his performance in the second semi-final on Thursday evening. With a lawsuit now pending, it would not be appropriate for Klein to continue competing.
“We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, no other artist or delegation member was involved in this incident. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavior at our event and are committed to providing a safe environment for all competition staff Against this background, Joost Klein’s behavior towards a team member is considered a violation of the competition rules.” European Broadcasting Union
Dutch broadcaster describes incident
Following speculation that Joost Klein hit the employee, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS released a clarification on its Instagram account.
“After last Thursday’s performance, an incident occurred. Contrary to clear agreements, Joost was filmed as he was coming off the stage and had to rush into the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly made it clear that he did not want to be filmed This was not respected. This resulted in Joost making a threatening move towards the camera. This incident was reported and an investigation was launched by the EBU and the police today consulted with the EBU in detail and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS considers the punishment to be very harsh and disproportionate. We stand for good behavior – so that there is no misunderstanding Exclusion not proportionate to this incident. We are very disappointed and sad for the millions of fans who were looking forward to tonight. What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe should not have ended this way.” AVROTROS
No transmission of the Dutch jury points
The former presenter at the ESC 2021 in Rotterdam and YouTuber Nikkie de Jager withdrew from awarding points for the Netherlands. In a statement, the 30-year-old said: “Whatever I do tonight, whether I’m there or not, I can’t do it well.” She made the decision together with AVROTROS.
Jury points will be recalculated
After the disqualification, 25 countries are now taking part in the final in Malmö with their acts. The original starting positions remain the same. As the EBU announced on Saturday afternoon, the jury results determined after the jury final will be recalculated so that the Netherlands will not receive any points. For example, if the Netherlands was ranked 9th by a national jury in one country, the song ranked 10th is now in 9th place and receives two points. The song, which was originally rated at number 11, is now ranked tenth and gets one point. Dutch viewers are still allowed to vote in the final and the jury’s result still stands
Three acts are staying away from the family show
On Saturday, some acts didn’t show up for the family show at the ESC finals. The family show on the afternoon of the final evening is also used as a dress rehearsal. Bambie Thug from Ireland, Marina Satti from Greece and Nemo from Switzerland did not show up at the dress rehearsal. Only Bambie Thug addressed the reasons for the absence. Bambie wrote on Instagram that before the flag parade rehearsal there was a situation that needed to be resolved with the EBU.
Disqualification became apparent
The EBU had already decided on Friday that 26-year-old Joost Klein was not allowed to appear at either the first or second dress rehearsal, the so-called jury finale. Although he appeared at the first rehearsal of the final and was still present at the flag parade, he did not rehearse his song.
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The first | Eurovision Song Contest 2024 | May 11, 2024 | 9:00 p.m