Chaos at the politically overshadowed ESC: Netherlands excluded
Published: Saturday, May 11th 2024, 14:20
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Even before the grand final, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is overshadowed by a scandal. A few hours before the final on Saturday evening, the organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), officially excluded the Dutch candidate Joost Klein from the competition.
It had previously become known that the Swedish police were investigating an incident involving the rapper after the semi-final show. In the Netherlands, the decision was met with horror.
The ESC was already highly politically charged: Several candidates criticized the participation of Israeli singer Eden Golan with regard to the Gaza war. The Irish entry Bambie Thug said she had cried because of Golan's appearance in the final. Two pro-Palestinian demonstrations were announced for Saturday alone in the southern Swedish venue of Malmö. A rally on Thursday with thousands of participants, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, remained calm. In Helsinki, demonstrators in the reception area of the Finnish broadcaster Yle called for a boycott of the ESC broadcast.
Incident after appearance in the semi-final
The 26-year-old Klein was considered one of the favorites with his song "Europapa" - a tribute to his deceased father. Now the EBU announced: "The Swedish police have investigated a complaint from a female member of the production team following an incident after his performance in the semi-final on Thursday evening. During the investigation it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the competition." The grand final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will therefore only take place with 25 participants. Switzerland is taking part with the music talent Nemo from Biel and the song "The Code".
Horror in the Netherlands
The participating Dutch TV station Avrotros was shocked and criticized the EBU's decision as disproportionate. The Dutch public broadcaster (NPO) also regretted the disqualification. "The NPO considers this to be a very drastic decision," the broadcaster announced. This is a disappointment for the millions of ESC fans in the Netherlands and other European countries. The course of events after the competition will be evaluated in detail with all those involved.
Dutch TV commentator Cornald Maas said the incident had nothing at all to do with Israel or the Israeli delegation. "The incident is hardly worth mentioning."
Exact circumstances of the incident unclear
The EBU and the police in Malmö initially provided no further details on the background to the alleged incident, which is said to have taken place on Thursday evening and was reported on Friday. A police spokeswoman told the German Press Agency that a man was accused of making threats against an employee of the Malmö Arena venue. The EBU said: "We would like to clarify that, contrary to some media reports and speculation on social media, no other artists or delegation members were involved in this incident."
The ESC organizer emphasized that it has a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavior at the event and strives to provide a safe working environment for all competition staff. "With this in mind, Joost Klein's behavior towards a team member is considered a violation of the competition rules," it continued.
Joost Klein was already suspended
The musician had already not taken part in the two rehearsals for the final on Friday. According to the EBU on Friday, this was also due to investigations into an incident involving the artist. The Dutchman did attend the first rehearsal and also took part in the flag parade. However, he did not rehearse his song "Europapa". The EBU decided shortly afterwards not to allow the singer to perform during the second dress rehearsal of the competition either. The juries of all participating countries regularly vote at this rehearsal. They were to evaluate Klein on the basis of an earlier performance.
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