Dutch contestant disqualified from Eurovision just hours before final over ‘backstage incident’

The Netherlands’ entry in Eurovision was disqualified just hours before the grand final, as police investigate a threat allegedly made in a backstage incident.

Joost Klein was a hot favourite to take out the international song contest but organisers booted him out as police investigate allegations of threats made to a Swedish police officer. There are conflicting reports about whether it was Klein involved, or a member of his team.

Klein was banned from taking part in the final two dress rehearsals on Friday as contest organiser the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said it was investigating an “incident”.

The EBU said Swedish police were investigating “a complaint made by a female member of the production crew” and it would not be appropriate for Klein to participate while the legal process was underway.

Swedish police confirmed a man had been reported for making “unlawful threats” at Malmö Arena, after Thursday’s semi-final.

“The investigation has been completed by the police… and the case will now go to the prosecutor within a few weeks.”

While a spokeswoman for the Swedish Police Authority said in a statement to CNN: “A man is suspected of unlawful threats. The crime is said to have been committed at Malmo Arena on Thursday evening.”

“The man [was] questioned by the police but not detained,” she added.

The EBU subsequently confirmed Klein would not be taking part in the final.

“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 said.

“In light of this, Joost Klein’s behaviour towards a team member is deemed in breach of Contest rules.”

The EBU said that Klein won’t receive any points from national juries or from Eurovision viewers, who help pick the winner, and the Netherlands won’t appear on the contest scoreboard.

Dutch viewers will still be able to vote in the contest, since viewers in Eurovision member countries aren’t allowed to vote for their own nation’s act.

Such a last-minute disqualification is unprecedented in the 68-year history of Eurovision, although countries have boycotted the event and in some cases been expelled — including Russia, kicked out after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, was left furious by the decision.

“AVROTROS finds the disqualification disproportionate and is shocked by the decision,” they said in a statement on social media.

“We deeply regret this and will come back to this later.”

The 26-year-old Dutch singer and rapper had been a bookies’ favorite, as well as a fan favorite, with his song Europapa, an upbeat Euro-techno ode to the continent that is also a tribute to Klein’s parents who died when he was a child.

Though rumours had been flying, the incident was connected to Israel’s delegation, organisers said the incident “did not involve any other performer or delegation member”.

Saturday night’s final (Sunday morning AEST) will now go ahead with just 25 entrants – narrowed from 37 entries over two semi-final earlier this week – in front of a live audience of thousands and an estimated 180 million viewers around the world.

This will be the 68th Eurovision Song Contest and is being held in the Swedish city of Malmo.

The competition was created following WWII to bring Europe together through song and this year takes place against the backdrop of two wars across the continent.

Though the contest’s motto is “united by music”, this year’s event has attracted large protests from Palestinians and their supporters, who say Israel should be excluded because of its conduct of the war against Hamas.

Thousands of people are expected to march for the second time this week through Sweden’s third-largest city, which has a large Muslim population, to demand a boycott of Israel and a ceasefire in the seven-month war.

Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of the contest, says that despite this year’s divisions, “there is no other cultural event which brings Europeans together quite like Eurovision does”.

“Just this moment where everyone is watching the same television show, which is being broadcast live across 37 countries — that’s something very special.”

This year’s entries range from emotional to eccentric. They include the goofy 1990s nostalgia of Finland’s Windows95man, who emerges from a giant onstage egg wearing very little clothing.

Ireland’s Bambie Thug summons witchy spirits onstage and brings a scream coach to Malmo, while Spain’s Nebulossa boldly reclaims a term used as a slur on women in Zorra.

The favourites include Swiss singer Nemo — who would be the first nonbinary Eurovision winner if their operatic song The Code tops the voting — and Croatia’s Baby Lasagna.

His song Rim Tim Tagi Dim is a rollicking rock number that tackles the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life.

Sometimes, though, songs run afoul of the contest’s ban on openly “political” statements.

Eurovision organisers told Israel to change the original title of its song, October Rain — an apparent reference to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1200 Israelis and triggered the Gaza war.

Israeli singer Eden Golan has shot up the odds since performing the power ballad, now titled Hurricane, in Thursday’s semi-final. Golan faced some booing at dress rehearsals but was voted into the final by viewers around the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised 20-year-old Golan for performing despite “contending with an ugly wave of anti-Semitism”.

The competing musicians are feeling the pressure, inundated with messages and abuse on social media and unable to speak out because of the contest rules.

Italy’s contestant, Angelina Mango, made a statement by walking into the Eurovision media centre on Friday and performing John Lennon’s Imagine as dozens of journalists gathered around her.

Swedish singer Loreen, last year’s Eurovision champion — and one of only two performers to win the contest twice — urged people not to shut down the “community of love” that is Eurovision.

“What is happening in the world today and in different places is distorting and traumatising all of us,” she told The Associated Press.

“What heals trauma …. Does trauma heal trauma? Does negativity heal negativity? It doesn’t work like that. The only thing that heals trauma for real — this is science — is love.”