A few new details in this. I hadn't clocked they cut the traditional 'good to go'.
femke AT inlauvperry
Who is Joost Klein, what did EBU do to him and why was he disqualified from competing in Eurovision 2024 for The Netherlands? In this thread everything will be explained.
#Eurovision2024 #Europapa #joostklein
Pic: Joost Klein with his friends Appie Mussa and Stuntkabouter
Joost Klein was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland (The Netherlands), in 1997. He lost both of his parents at a very young age. Luckily he had his brother & sister. At 10, he started a YouTube career as EenhoornJoost. In 2017, Joost stopped making YouTube videos & began making music.
Joost Klein has a few popular songs like 'Friesenjung', 'Ome Robert' and 'Wachtmuziek'. In the song 'Florida 2009' Joost tells about the passing of his parents. Klein performed this song for the first time at Pinkpop 2022. "This song is just for my parents."
In December 2023, Joost Klein's lifelong dream came true when he was chosen to represent The Netherlands at Eurovision. His song "Europapa," unveiled on February 29, 2024, is a heartfelt tribute to Europe and his late father, reflecting his belief in a borderless world.
Europapa is produced by Teun de Kruif (Tantu Beats), with a special contribution from DJ Paul Elstak, one of the founders of the happy hardcore genre. It's the first Eurovision song ever to hit the #1 spot in the Dutch National Top 40 for a total of 5 weeks (overtaking Arcade).
Joost performed Europapa in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday, May 9, where he managed to qualify for the final. During the press conference, Eden Golan (Israel) was asked a question she didn't want to answer. Joost then asked 'why not?'
The next day, Joost's afternoon rehearsal was abruptly canceled. Why was it canceled? Why was he at the flag parade rehearsal but not the song rehearsal? Then, the Dutch flag disappeared from the dressing rooms in the Arena. Joost's whereabouts became uncertain.
Before the jury show Thursday evening, there was no communication from EBU, Eurovision, AVROTROS (Dutch radio and television broadcaster),or Joost Klein. The audience waited in the arena, only to learn that The Netherlands wouldn't perform. Was it related to the press conference?
Later it became clear there was an investigation ongoing regarding an incident with Joost Klein and someone else. Swedish news said it was physical. Because of the investigation, he wasn't allowed to perform at the jury show. The professional jury assessed a previous performance.
The crowd at the jury show sang Europapa a few times and cheered for Joost Klein. Meanwhile, the media had been harassing Joost Klein at his hotel to get an answer to all of this. A few hours later, it became known that the Swedish police had been investigating the incident.
Voting for the rest of the world this year should've started Saturday at midnight because of the timezones. This had been delayed for 2 hours, but after those 2 hours the rest of the world still couldn't vote. There had still been no information from EBU.
The Grand Final should start later today. Without any information, nobody was sure it could even take place. In the morning, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that an incident took place on Thursday evening with a female TV employee, with a complaint having been filed on Friday.
Later that day, it emerged that Joost Klein was interrogated late Friday, along with the complainant. The case is now with the public prosecutor, who will decide what happens next. The settlement of the case could take weeks. Still no info from EBU or AVROTROS.
At the same time, a meeting took place with the boss of NPO (Dutch broadcaster), which was already planned before EBU started the investigation. EBU and AVROTROS were also at this meeting.
Finally, the Swedish police shared that a man is suspected of 'unlawful threats' that took place at the Malmö Arena. No information had been released about the nature of the threats. It was clear that there had been no physical altercation, only words were used.
The press gathered behind the hotel: a statement was coming any minute now. The statement from EBU: Dutch artist Joost Klein has been disqualified from the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.
AVROTROS disagrees with the statement made by EBU. "The whole incident is blown out of proportion." Multiple former Eurovision participants have supported Joost. Käärijä (Finland, 2023) and Alessandra (Norway, 2023), withdrew from giving jury points on behalf of their country.
The disqualification has provoked strong reactions and EBU must do something. At this point, Martin Österdahl (Executive producer), is being boo'd offline AND online. During the family show, the presenters even SKIPPED the segment where they cut to Martin's 'good to go'-command.
AVROTROS had released a statement: Joost, in a rush to the greenroom, was filmed despite voicing his objection. This led to him gesturing threateningly towards the camera, though he did not touch the camerawoman. This incident was reported.
AVROTROS offered the EBU to prevent DQ: - Joost publicly apologizing - A talk between all parties involved - Shared statement between AT & EBU The camerawoman doesn't want any contact with AT & Joost. EBU stood by their decision.
Cornald Maas criticized the EBU ("Fuck EBU"), while screens in the pressroom displaying 'Justice for Joost'. EBU now only permits flags of participating countries and rainbow flags in the Arena. A Dutch woman had to hand in a flag with 'Joostice' and 'Bring Joost back' messages.
NikkieTutorials, set to award 12 jury points for The Netherlands, withdrew just before the Grand Final. Martin Österdahl stepped in. EBU mentioned the camerawoman has a 'different story' about the incident but didn't elaborate. Despite this, the Grand Final commenced.
During the Final, Joost posts an IG Stories video with dogs with the song 'Who Let the Dogs Out'. AVROTROS reports Joost is feeling down. After the Final, at Euroclub afterparty, Joost takes pics with fans: "I'm not about negativity." Next day, he shares a blue heart on IG.
Joost Klein is now doing "okay". He's today's top gainer on the global Spotify chart, rising 93 spots to #38, with his song receiving 2,572,467 filtered streams on May 11. Since the Semi-final, he's gained over 660k followers on IG. I'll keep this thread updated as needed.
The Swedish police have reportedly let him go, and Appie has just spoken out on TikTok for the first time, saying that Joost was disqualified for “basically nothing”.
Appie has just posted on Instagram: "Some believe the blue bird is a symbol of joy and hope"
According to Aftonbladet's sources, Joost Klein broke the photographer's camera during the incident and reportedly acted very aggressively. However, there are also multiple sources (including AVROTROS) stating that the camera is damaged, not broken.
Important to note is that Joost Klein did not want to be filmed when rushing to the greenroom after his performance. AVROTROS claims there was an agreement in place about this, but the camerawoman was unrelenting.
Joost Klein is now back again in The Netherlands. Welkom in Nederland jonguh