After a backstage confrontation, Dutch musician Joost Klein was eliminated from the Eurovision Song Contest.
Following a female production staff member’s accusation of intimidation against Swedish police, the singer was sent home.
Throughout the judicial proceedings, the event organizers declared that “it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the contest”.
The decision was met with amazement by the Dutch broadcaster Avrtotros, who criticized Klein’s omission as “disproportionate” and promised to rectify it later.
With “Europapa,” a song that placed highly in this year’s competition, Klein paid tribute to his late father, who died of cancer when he was twelve years old.
He had promised, at 26, to carry out his father’s ambition of participating in Eurovision.
During Friday’s first dress rehearsal for the broadcast grand final at the Malmö Arena, rumors of his disqualification began to circulate.
Just as Klein’s stage setup was being set up, a production manager gave the order to remove it.
After that, his performance was omitted without any explanation, and Eden Golan, a competitor from Israel, took his position in the running order.
The event’s organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), later acknowledged in a statement that they were “investigating an incident involving the Dutch artist” in response to a report.
The grand final on Saturday will now feature 25 performances rather than the originally planned 26, according to the EBU.
Voting is still open to Dutch viewers, and the Dutch jury’s decision from Friday’s rehearsal stands.
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