Eurovision organizers finally explained why Joost Klein was disqualified: it's much more serious

The organizers of the largest Eurovision Song Contest 2024, namely the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), criticized the Dutch public broadcaster Avrotros' version of events regarding the disqualification of participant Joost Klein. According to them, the previously reported information does not correspond to the true eyewitness accounts.

Joost Klein was disqualified a few hours before the grand final due to allegedly violent actions against a female show worker. Avrotros said that the reason was allegedly a simple "threatening movement" towards the woman, but he did not touch her. However, the EBU protests, and witnesses say that in fact there was a quarrel between them, which resulted in property damage, The Guardian writes.

The real evidence against Joost Klein was announced by the Eurovision Song Contest organizers and the Swedish police, as the previous version of events allegedly "does not correspond to the statements made by staff and witnesses".

"Joost's behavior was a clear violation of the contest rules, which are aimed at creating a safe working environment for all staff and protecting the production. We do not prejudge the legal proceedings, but given the circumstances of what happened and the fact that the police case will soon be handed over to the public prosecutor, it would be inappropriate for Joost to participate in the grand final," the EBU said.

By the way, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet noted that the contestant and the cameraman allegedly had a verbal altercation, which resulted in Klein damaging the video camera. This year's disqualification was the first time in the history of the show that a country's representative dropped out of the competition in the course of the competition.

Earlier, the Dutch broadcaster noted that the contestant was on his way to the dressing room when he was filmed without permission, which was allegedly a violation of the contract. Klein made it clear that he wanted to be alone, but the crew ignored his request.

"This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the cameraman. The incident was reported and the EBU and the police launched an investigation," the statement read.

As a reminder, the participant was supposed to perform during the grand show on May 11 with the hit "Europapa", which tore up the charts and could have brought the participant a place in the top ten.

OBOZ.UA wrote that in the Netherlands, citizens are trying to support Joost Klein, which is why even in churches the melody of his Eurovision song "Europa" is heard.

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