The Netherlands' Eurovision Song Contest candidate Joost Klein will not take part in the final of the Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, tonight, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) organising the festival announced.
Klein is currently under investigation following a complaint filed against him involving an incident in which he reportedly made "unlawful threats" to a Song Contest employee, police confirmed to Flemish media on Saturday. What happened exactly is still unclear.
"The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest," the organisation announced in a statement on its website. This is unprecedented in the history of the Song Contest.
Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an "incident" following Klein's performance in Thursday night’s semi final. "While the legal process takes its course, the organisation said that it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest," the EBU said.
Police questioned Klein, the complainant and several witnesses on Friday night. The investigation was referred to the Prosecutor's Office and could "take weeks," according to a Public Prosecutor's spokesperson.
They also added that a Prosecutor is only present outside office hours and at weekends for cases where suspects have been arrested, which Klein has not been.
"We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member," the EBU statement reads, referring to previous unconfirmed reports that Klein had a confrontation with a member of the Israeli delegation.
Dutch public broadcaster is 'shocked'
"We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the Contest," they added. "In light of this, Joost Klein’s behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of Contest rules."
The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will now proceed with 25 participating songs, the EBU added.
In the meantime, Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS called Klein's disqualification "disproportionate." The broadcaster is "shocked by the decision," they said on social media. "We deeply regret it and will come back to this later."
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was having a crisis consultation following Klein's disqualification and the strong reactions to the EBU's announcement, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported. What exactly the crisis consultation is about and how long it has been going on is not clear.
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The Albanian Eurovision Song Contest entry, which failed to qualify for a place in the final, appealed on social media for Klein's return. Norwegian singer Alessandra, who finished fifth at last year's Song Contest and was supposed to hand out the points on behalf of her country announced that she will no longer hand do this because of "the toxic situation" that has arisen.
Irish artist Bambie Thug spoke on social media of a "situation" that needed to be brought to the EBU's attention immediately. Several countries (Switzerland, Greece and Ireland) were not present at the flag parade during the final rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, several media report.
It is unclear whether that absence is due to the disqualification of the Netherlands.
This article was updated to include the latest information on the EBU's crisis talks on Saturday afternoon.
