BREAKING: Joost Klein disqualified from Eurovision Song Contest

There will be no Europapa in the arena tonight.

Last Thursday evening, Joost Klein gave an unparalleled show during the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. With his hit Europapa he turned the audience upside down and managed to secure a place in the final. Unfortunately, his participation came to an end. The organization just announced that he has been disqualified.

Incident

It has probably not escaped your notice that there is a lot going on surrounding the Dutch entry. In case you missed it, here’s a little recap. A complaint was filed against Joost Klein yesterday by a female TV employee. She says she was threatened by the singer. This incident is said to have occurred on Thursday evening. As a result, Joost did not appear during the final rehearsals yesterday and was also not allowed to participate in the jury show. However, his performance was assessed by the professional juries. His performance in the semi-final was used for this.

Exclusion

The police then announced that Joost was interrogated late last night. The person who filed the complaint was also interrogated. The case has now been passed on to the public prosecutor, who will determine what will happen next. The settlement of the case could take weeks, but the final is already tonight.

That is why the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the festival, has chosen to exclude Joost from participation. “While legal proceedings continue, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the competition,” the organization said in a statement.

The EBU has also made it clear that no members from other participating countries were involved in the incident.

AVROTROS responds

Our own broadcaster has now responded to the EBU’s decision with a short message on social media.

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“We have taken note of the disqualification by the EBU. AVROTROS finds the disqualification disproportionate and is shocked by the decision. We deeply regret this and will come back to the content later,” the broadcaster wrote in two languages ​​with the message.

What exactly happened remains unclear for now. What consequences this will have for Dutch participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is also a mystery. In the entire history of the competition, a disqualification during the competition has never happened before.

So for now we have to wait patiently for more information.

Source: NOS, Grazia | Image: NL Image