Uproar at the Eurovision Song Contest
Will Joost Klein be excluded?
Will Joost Klein be excluded from the ESC?
© ddp/DPPA
Will the Dutch ESC entry be excluded? There are serious allegations against Joost Klein. Crisis meetings are currently underway.
Huge scandal at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö! The Dutch singer Joost Klein (26) seems to be on the verge of being officially excluded and is currently threatened with disqualification. According to consistent media reports, he is accused of being involved in a physical altercation. Klein was there at the warm-up rehearsal on Friday afternoon.
At the subsequent rehearsal, the musician who wanted to perform the song “Europapa” was already missing. As the Swedish newspaper “Aftonbladet” reports, among others, the Dutchman used violence against a TV production employee. Nothing has been confirmed yet.
A decision is expected today
The Swedish TV station SVT, however, reports that Klein is said to have used violence against a photographer. This has neither been confirmed nor denied yet. The TV broadcaster European Broadcasting Union (EBU) only confirmed the ban on rehearsals and spoke of an “incident” that was being investigated. It is said that crisis meetings are currently taking place.
It is expected that a final decision will be made on Friday evening. Joost Klein may be completely excluded from the ESC. The so-called jury finale will take place in Malmö at 9 p.m., where experts will evaluate the songs, which, in addition to the audience vote, will then make up 50 percent of the rating in tomorrow’s main event. If Klein is not on stage, participation in the actual ESC on Saturday evening seems basically impossible.