Joost Klein will not sing his tribute to his father and the Schengen area in the Eurovision final this Saturday evening. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided to exclude him from the competition after an incident with a camerawoman, according to information from our special correspondent Fabien Randanne. Questioned by AFP, the Swedish police confirmed that they had opened an investigation for “intimidation”. The file was sent to the public prosecutor’s office.
With peroxide bangs and oversized shoulder pads, the 26-year-old artist is notably accompanied on stage by an acolyte disguised as a giant chicken. The Dutch candidate (or rather the ex-candidate now) was the only one to sing his love of the European Union, one month before an essential election for Brussels.
“One day I will be on this stage”
“I have never been in politics. I’m just an actor who makes music, but I like to add a deeper layer to my music,” Joost Klein explained to 20 minutes. However, on Thursday, during the press conference which followed the semi-final of the competition which aims to be apolitical, Joost Klein attracted attention by expressing his disagreement with the fact of being placed next to the Israeli representative Eden Golan.
In particular, he had ostensibly covered his face with the Dutch flag on several occasions. His exclusion, however, has nothing to do with his attitude towards other delegations, the EBU stressed. The young man was delighted to be part of this competition that he discovered in 2006.
“I was watching it with my parents and I jokingly told them, ‘One day I’m going to be on that stage.’ And I did it, damn it! », he exclaimed to 20 minutes during an interview before the Eurovision in Concert event in Amsterdam in mid-April. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros deemed his exclusion “disproportionate” and said it was “shocked” by the decision.