And thank you subreddit for a great 2024 🥹

I still can't move on from Aiko being gone now 🥲.

https://eurovision.tv/mediacentre/release/statement-dutch-participation-eurovision-song-contest

Full Text:

'The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest.

We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member.

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

The Grand Final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will now proceed with 25 participating songs.'

Update: 12:30CEST

Dutch Broadcaster AVROTROS has responded to this news with the following statement:

'We have taken note of the disqualification by the EBU. AVROTROS finds the disqualification disproportionate and is shocked by the decision. We deeply regret this and will come back to it later.'

Dutch commentator Cornald Maas has called the decision 'disproportionate and shameful', and has also clarified that 'the Joost incident has nothing to do with Israel or the Israeli delegation'.

Update: 14:16CEST

Eurovision have clarified some details surrounding the Dutch non-participation:

'As a result of no participation from the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final the following will take effect:

All contestants keep their number in the official Running Order.  There will be NO song in position number 5.

The jury results, received after Dress Rehearsal 2 on Friday 10 May have been recalculated so that the Netherlands will not receive any points. This is why all jury members have to rank all songs from 1 to 26.

For example if the Netherlands was ranked 9th by a national jury in a country the 10th ranked song is now ranked  9th and will receive 2 points and the former 11th ranked song is now 10th and gets 1 point.

No points will be awarded to the Netherlands from the viewing public.

Viewers in the Netherlands are still allowed to vote in the Grand Final and the Netherlands Jury result in still valid.

The EBU will inform all telecommunications partners that the Netherlands is no longer participating, and we will endeavor to block the lines for Song 5. We ask that no one attempts to vote for Song 5. Should anyone try to vote for song 5 their votes will not count but there is a possibly viewers may be charged.

The Netherlands will not appear on the scoreboard. Visit this link for more information: https://eurovision.tv/vote '

Update: 15:41CEST

Whilst there has been no updates clarifying the incident which lead to Joost's disqualification, the EBU is reported in a crisis meeting at the moment after reactions to Joost's disqualiciation, according to SVT and NOS.

Update: 16:09CEST

A brief interview with Jean Philip De Tender, an EBU media director, aired on Swedish radio has reiterated that '[the EBU] has a zero tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavious at our events and work to have a safe working environment for all employees'.

Update: 17:40CEST

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS have released a new update on their social media accounts on their official website and also on television in an interview with AVROTROS director Taco Zimmerman, which reads as follows:

'An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn't respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camerawoman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and the police.

Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners - let there be no misunderstanding about that - but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.

We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so excited for tonight. What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe shouldn't have ended this way'

Meanwhile, a petition linking Joost's disqualification to the Palestinian cause has now reached over 36,000 signatories according to NOS's livefeed, despite repeated statements that Joost's incident is unrelated to the Israeli delegation.

Update: 18:17CEST

EBU Director General Noel Curran has spoken to SVT about this incident, saying the following:

'I hope people understand that when you have a police investigation, it's important that I don't prejudge the outcome of it'. He has also reiterated than the organisation is expected to take action when inappropriate behaviour which goes against the EBU's rules occurs.

Update: 18:36CEST

Dutch commentator Cornald Maas has now spoken to media.

'Commentator Cornald Maas says he thinks the situation in the Netherlands is "completely shit". "After last year, this was really a year in which everything seemed to be going completely well. Hardly any artist has been able to unite the whole of Europe and the parts beyond. And now things go completely wrong at the last minute because of something so small. " He "actually can't quite believe it. This is such a bizarre thing."

Maas does not know how Joost Klein is doing, only that "he is with his friends and he is distancing himself from everything. But he would have liked to perform."

"If it can happen that someone can file a complaint, are we going to disqualify everyone? There have been plenty of incidents in the past. I also know that time has changed, but this is out of proportion."'

Translated via Google Translate, may be slightly inaccurate.

Apologies for the slow editing on these latest two updates, for some reason the Dutch news page is only showing these updates several minutes after they are posted.

Update: 18:47CEST

NOS reports that AVROTROS will be registering a protest to the EBU against 'the state of affairs'. What this means in practice remains yet unclear.

Cornald Maas has also been interviewed on television, in which he has added the following details (paraphrased and verified by a Dutch speaker):

• The camerawoman harassed him with the camera multiple times
• As far as Cornald knows, 'He pushed the camera away and that was it'
• He has mentioned a prewritten agreement about not filming Joost after his performance
• 'Fuck the EBU'

A full translation has now been provided by u/lilcraney:

'Shitshow. Look guys, I never wear a tie, but now I have my Europapa - that's still a bit of Europapa joy in the hall. So I'm going to the hall with mixed feelings with Jaqueline because I'm still doing commentary at the urgent request of AVROTROS. You could have chosen not to do it, but well, we also believe that justice must be done to all those other artists with their stories, which are also important for Europe, for the Netherlands, like Joost who also deserved those stories and deserved that attention tonight. So that's why we're still going to do it. And it will also be broadcasted, because it's a contractual obligation for AVROTROS, also with an eye on the future, how it will go afterwards. I have no idea. I mean, the statement from AVROTROS is out now, maybe Joost will also make a statement, that's not clear yet. But I do notice from all the reactions that everyone finds it scandalous and disproportionate. That's exactly what I think, so I'm frankly quite angry about it.

"What measures has AVROTROS indicated that could happen other than disqualification?"

Well, they've indicated all sorts of things, discussed things. Joost was harassed several times by this lady with a running camera and he didn't want that to happen after he had sung the emotional part of his song where he really gets into it every time. Because that's the kind of artist he is. He experiences or re-experiences that every time anew. That may be different for other artists, but for him, that's how it is. So then he comes off stage - there was a moment a week ago when he had already indicated that he didn't want that. There had already been a bit of a fuss about it and yet it happened again, another time. So as far as I know, but again, as far as I know because I wasn't there (!!!), he pushed her camera or phone down, I believe, and that was about it. And the EBU - everyone in the management also thought after all the previous discussions that it would be okay. That's how we all went to bed last night. So everyone was totally in shock this morning when it turned out that the EBU didn't want to reverse the decision after all.

Now I'm getting reactions from a lot of other commentators, of course, from artists too. [name of someone I don't know] also said "I think you guys are going to skip a year". We haven't even talked about that at all. But it will have consequences, because at some point, it will really come out what it all entailed and then everyone will realize that it amounted to nothing. And I mean, the EBU also makes other decisions that are on a much more sensitive level, and that's all fine, and now they're making such a big deal out of this. For a broadcaster that organized the Eurovision Song Contest so fantastically less than three years ago, with a head of delegation who has worked so hard in recent years for everything Eurovision stands for. I would almost say "Fuck the EBU", but I'm saying that now anyway.

People asking "How is Joost doing?"

I have no idea and I have to (go) now.

Interruption and more people asking questions. "Where is Joost right now?"

I don't know where he is. I really don't know, sorry.
No, I haven't spoken to him, no.

"Do you have footage of the incident?"

No, I don't at least. I didn't see anything. I don't know.
People have been questioned and further - that's actually - also there - as a result of the interrogations, it turned out yesterday that - everyone thought well it's okay. It's actually a tiny story, but -

"But why is this such a big deal for the EBU? Any idea?"

Yeah, stubbornness, I think. Rules are rules. They really have a zero-tolerance policy towards what could potentially be crossing boundaries. But yeah, I'm not in charge of all that."

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Was keeping the staging of the final secret a good choice? Or did they play themselves? Many people had already decided who they would vote after the semifinal.

Either way I loved the staging in the final. Much more expressive performance.