The current Eurovision Song Contest may be one of the most controversial in history. Tensions over Israel’s participation and the claim of Gaza have been aggravated by a historic decision: Joost Klein, representative of the Netherlands, has been excluded from the contest.
Apparently, the singer had been involved in an incident with “illegal threats” to a production worker. This event has caused the postponement of the voting of the finalists until the situation of the Dutch contestant is resolved.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has been clear on this: “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behavior at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all contest staff.”
In this context, Klein’s actions, of which no specific details have been given beyond the fact that he had exceeded his limits, have been considered a violation of the competition rules, which led him to miss two general rehearsals on Friday while the EBU was investigating the incident.
According to the Swedish police, following the incident, which took place on Thursday night, “all essential investigative measures” were taken and “the suspect, the complainant and the witnesses” were questioned. The police added that “the investigation has been concluded” and that “the case now follows the usual legal procedures” pending rapid processing.
Klein’s exclusion has dispelled rumors that the incident could be related to the Israeli delegation, with whom Klein had a confrontation at a press conference when he asked Eden Golan, Israel’s representative, to answer a question about the relevance of their presence at Eurovision. Furthermore, behind the scenes, there was also a clash between both delegations.
In this sense, the Eurovision organizers have been clear and have denied that Klein’s expulsion has anything to do with Israel, emphasizing that the incident “did not involve any other artist or member of the delegation.”
Social networks, however, have not understood the EBU’s decision. A large number of Eurofans have assured that the organization has a double standard: they do not tolerate Klein’s behavior, but they do allow the Israeli delegation to harass and provoke.
