Important changes to Eurovision final after disqualification of Dutch entry Joost Klein

There will be important changes to the Eurovision final after Dutch entry Joost Klein was disqualified.

The rapper and singer from the Netherlands had qualified on May 9 for the grand final, at the Malmo Arena venue in Sweden, with the song Europapa, but after an alleged incident backstage and a probe from Swedish police, he has been removed from the competition.

The 26-year-old was meant to be the fifth act to perform but the organisers have announced that there will be no change to the running order with the show continuing from the fourth act to the sixth reports the Mirror.

The EBU has asked that no one attempts to vote for song number five and that if anyone does, their vote will not count, but there is a possibility they may be charged.

The union also said that it will inform all telecommunications partners that the Netherlands is no longer taking part and will endeavour to block the lines for song number five.

The Eurovision voting for the winner sees 50% of the voting being determined by a jury of music industry professionals while the other half is from viewers’ votes.

Each country has its jury and juries vote based on the second dress rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show.

According to the EBU, the jury results received after dress rehearsal number two on Friday have been recalculated, so that the Netherlands will not receive any points.

The Netherlands will also not appear on the scoreboard during the grand final and they will not be awarded any points from the viewing public.

But Dutch viewers are still allowed to vote in the grand final and the Dutch jury result is still valid.

A statement from the European Broadcasting Union said: “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."

They added: “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.”

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