Social media is gripped by the absence of Joost Klein in Malmö today. What is happening, the fandom asks? A new episode in the saga has just been published by the EBU, as they state the investigation is still ‘ongoing’. Joost will therefore not rehearse tonight at the jury final.
An incident in Malmö
We currently know nothing officially about the incident. There is plenty of speculation on social media regarding the Netherlands at this point, but nothing has been confirmed or denied by the EBU or AVROTROS since this afternoon.
Earlier this afternoon, the EBU released the following message to members of the press: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice. We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”
Just after 16:00 CET, Dutch journalist Aran Bade confirmed on X that Avrotros had commented on the matter. The Dutch broadcaster states: “It is true that an investigation is taking place regarding an incident. We await the outcome of this investigation and will not comment on the matter any further until then.”
Friday night statement
The statement that was just released by the Eurovision Song Contest organisers through the media centre in Malmö reads as follows:
The investigation into the incident with the Dutch artist in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is still ongoing. Discussions are also taking place between the EBU and AVROTROS, the Dutch participating broadcaster. While the investigation continues the EBU has decided that Joost Klein will not perform during Dress Rehearsal 2 of the competition which is voted on by juries in the 37 participating countries. His performance from Semi Final 2 will be used instead.
The Eurovision Communications Team
From this, we can gather that Joost and the Netherlands have not been disqualified yet. We know that Martin Österdahl was absent during the first dress rehearsal as well, which probably means he was working on said investigation. No matter the outcome, this is a shocking day in the Eurovision community.
ESCXTRA.com will update you once an official outcome is revealed by the parties involved.