Eurovision Song Contest 2024 act not repeating ‘until further notice’ after ‘incident’

Eurovision organizers said Dutch actor Joost Klein, who did not perform his Europapa song on Friday, will not repeat “until further notice” after an incident backstage. In a statement to the PA news agency, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said: “We are currently investigating an incident reported to us involving the Dutch artist. “It will not repeat until further notice. We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”

During the first dress rehearsal for the Eurovision 2024 Grand Final, Joost appeared during the Flag Parade. However, when it came time to perform his song, neither Joost nor his team appeared on stage. The rehearsal continued with the rest of the performers in the order planned, without an initial explanation

Entering with the fun track Europapa, a tribute to his late parents, the 26-year-old Dutch rapper and singer qualified for Thursday night’s semi-final at Malmo Arena, Sweden. He was only seen briefly at rehearsals on Friday during the flag parade before missing the play.

At a press conference on Thursday, Klein told Israeli act Eden Golan that he should answer a question about the safety of other Eurovision contestants. A journalist asked Golan: “Have you ever thought that by being here you bring risks and dangers to other participants and the public?”

When the moderator told Golan he didn’t have to answer the question, Klein chimed in, saying, “Why not?”

Golan said: “I think we are all here for one reason and one reason only and the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) is taking all the safety measures to make this a safe and united place for everyone and therefore I think it’s safe for everyone and we wouldn’t be here (if not).”

The Israeli act also said she was “overwhelmed” and “super excited to get on stage once again and share… my love with everyone.”

Earlier, when Klein was asked if his song could bring people together through music, he replied: “I think that’s a good question for the EBU.”

During the semi-final, Golan was cheered and cheered by the audience as he sang Hurricane, which was reworked from an early song, October Rain, believed to be a reference to the Hamas attacks.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he believes the protests taking place in Sweden against Israel’s participation in Eurovision amid the Gaza conflict are “wrong”. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The Prime Minister believes these protests are wrong and that some of the scenes we saw were outrageous.”

She said: “As we share the deep concern of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and raise this regularly, when it comes to this debate about Eurovision in these protests, we are incredibly attentive to the Israelis and also to the Jewish people worldwide. who love Eurovision and their feelings when they saw this after it was an atrocious terrorist attack and while hostages are still being held by Hamas, and he will urge people to consider this when repeating these unfair calls for a boycott.”

An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Malmo on Thursday to condemn Israel’s participation in Eurovision, and two more protests have been approved for Saturday, the Swedish Police Authority told the AP news agency.

Israeli competitor Eden Golan triumphed in Thursday night’s semi-final. The Prime Minister’s spokeswoman said: “He believes it is wrong and unfair to call for a boycott of their act. We remain steadfast in our support for Israel and its right to self-defense and its right to prevent a terrorist attack like we have seen from ever happening again. At the same time, we continue to call for further action on aid in response to a growing humanitarian crisis.”

She added: “There’s always a right to peaceful protest, that’s part of democracy here and around the world, but as far as the prime minister’s opinion, these scenes and whether it’s right to call for a boycott of their acts, no… he think it’s wrong.”