Joost Klein, the representative of the Netherlands, will not repeat his song “Europapa” on Friday evening during the important general on the eve of the Eurovision final, the organization citing an “incident”. “The investigation into an alleged incident involving Klein is not yet complete,” said the Dutch public broadcasting association (AVROTROS). “This means that Joost is not authorized to rehearse this evening”, after having already not participated in a first rehearsal in the afternoon, she clarified, indicating that she was in “permanent talks” with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees the competition.
“This never happened.”
The professional juries from the 37 participating countries will therefore evaluate a previous performance by the Dutchman. “We are currently investigating an incident reported to us concerning the Dutch artist. He will not repeat until further notice,” the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees the competition, without giving further details on the nature of the incident. “This has never happened in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest,” according to the correspondent for Dutch public media NOS in Malmö, where the final is to be held in Sweden on Saturday.
The 68th edition of Eurovision, a song competition which aims to be apolitical, is marked by controversies surrounding the participation of Israel, qualified for the final, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza. In Malmö, some 12,000 people demonstrated on Thursday against Israel’s entry into the competition. During the first rehearsal on Friday, Joost Klein paraded with the other competition participants, but then did not go on stage when his turn came.
At the end of the semi-final on Thursday evening, the 26-year-old expressed his disagreement with being placed next to Israeli representative Eden Golan, notably covering his face with the Dutch flag on several occasions. With his Klein blue suit with broad shoulder pads and his peroxide hair, he performs “Europapa”, a hymn to Europe and unity. According to public television SVT, the “incident” mentioned by the EBU was a confrontation between Joost Klein and a photographer.