The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and disqualified Dutch contestant Joost Klein have had their say after the police investigation into a backstage incident at the Eurovision final was dropped.
ADVERTISEMENTFollowing the news that the Swedish Prosecution Authority dropped the investigation into Dutch Eurovision contestant Joost Klein for alleged inappropriate actions at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) released a statement reiterating that their rules had been broken.
Jean Philip De Tender, EBU Deputy Director General and Director of Media said: “The decision to disqualify Mr Klein from this year’s event was made in strict accordance with Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) rules and governance procedures, after an internal investigation. In parallel, Swedish police decided to open a formal investigation into the conduct of Mr Klein during the Second Semi Final, which we understand was closed today without further action.”
“This was an investigation into whether a criminal act was committed and not whether Mr Klein behaved inappropriately and breached ESC rules and procedures. This new development therefore does not have any impact on our decision which we stand by completely. »
On his side, Klein took to Instagram to make his feelings known.
“The last couple of months were terrible. Even though I love to perform anywhere around the world, something didn’t feel right. Why did we have to wait so long for an answer? Everyday I felt insecure whilst I knew the truth. There is no case against me, because there never was a case.”
He continued: “We should all take care for each other, we should all support each other and we should ALL come together. Companies just want to protect their money and they tried to use me as a shield. A village against the city… Guess what? LOVE ALWAYS WINS. TRUST THE PROCESS!!!!! EVEN THOUGH I LOST ALL HOPE.”
He concluded with: “WE BACK NOW BABY!!! ALBUM MODE!!!!!!!”
Klein, whose song ‘Europapa’ was one of the competition favourites, was disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on the day of the Grand Final in Malmö due to allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a Eurovision photographer backstage.
The incident marked the first time that an act had been disqualified after reaching the Grand Final in the competition’s 68-year history.
The Swedish prosecutor dropped the investigation due to lack of evidence, stating: “The investigation has come to the conclusion that the man made a movement that hit the woman’s film camera. The course of events was fast and was perceived differently by the witnesses of the incident. I have closed the investigation because I cannot prove that the act was capable of causing serious fear or that the man had any such intention. »
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS welcomed the Swedish decision, saying that there was “no evidence of criminal conduct.”
« From the beginning we said that this disqualification was unnecessary and disproportionate” and it planned to meet with the organizer about the issue soon.
“This unjustified disqualification will be central to this conversation,” it said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Two months ago, Klein added the tag line, “Eurovision 2025” to his social media channels. This led to speculation he could attempt to participate in the contest again next year in Switzerland.
Additional sources • EBU – AVROTROS – AP
