Following on from the Swedish police dropping charges against Joost Klein due to insufficient evidence, AVROTROS and the EBU have released statements to SongfestivalPodcast.nl about filming arrangements between AVROTROS, the EBU and Joost Klein himself.
EBU and AVROTROS disagree on filming arrangements
Since Joost Klein’s disqualification from the Eurovision 2024 final, AVROTROS have maintained that there was an agreement between the EBU and Joost Klein not to film him after he had performed, due to the emotional nature of his performance. In the lead up to the incident, AVROTROS also maintain that this agreement was not upheld by the EBU. However, the EBU have released a statement to Eurovision journalists GJ Kooijman, Gabe Milne, James Stephenson and Sem Anne van Dijk claiming such an agreement never existed.
“We can however confirm that we are not aware of any agreement being in place not to film Joost Klein backstage during the Second Semi Final, and there is certainly no written request from AVROTROS regarding this matter.”
The EBU in a following statement went on to say the following in regards to the events that led up to Joost Klein’s disqualification:
“We do not wish to revisit, or enter a public debate regarding what happened backstage on Thursday 9 May.
In agreeing to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest all artists commit to abide by the rules of the event which include the possibility of being filmed backstage.
We are mindful of the impact of the multiple pressures that competing in the world’s largest live music event can have on artists, and indeed those working on the event. This in no way excuses the inappropriate behavior of any individual, and we stand by our decision to take the action we did in disqualifying Joost Klein who was in breach of our rules. We will not tolerate threats made to members of staff in the process of conducting their duties.”
AVROTROS on Joost Klein agreement
AVROTROS have stated to the same group of journalists they “strongly disagree” with the EBU’s version of events, they also go on to say that they have evidence that such an agreement did in fact exist between themselves and the EBU, in their statement they go on to say
“AVROTROS strongly disagrees with the proposed course of events as outlined by the EBU. We have shown the agreements about not filming Joost (including evidence) to the EBU (and these agreements were also respected up to the performance in the semi-final on May 9), but have not heard any response to this either.”
This is a follow up to AVROTROS not receiving a response when they wished to have a dialogue about why Joost Klein was disqualified from the Eurovision 2024 final. AVROTROS have stated that the EBU have failed to respond to any of their concerns about the events of the second semi-final in Malmö.
Facts from the investigation
The Swedish police earlier this week dropped all criminal charges against Joost Klein. This was due to the fact that it could not be proved that Joost intended to cause any harm to the cameraperson involved. In terms of the filming agreement, senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson noted that several witnesses had spoke about its existence. However the Malmö prosecution have claimed that these were not part of the case or investigation, therefore he could not comment on whether or not such an agreement was in place.
At this point it is still undecided whether AVROTROS will participate at Eurovision 2025 in Switzerland.
Who is Joost?
A Friesland native (which gave name to his 2022 album Fryslân) Joost Klein got his start on YouTube, initially making sketches and mini-documentaries, before releasing his debut EP in 2016. Mainly a hiphop artist, Joost also mixes influences of drum & bass, hardstyle and gabber into his songs.
Joost lost both of his parents during childhood, which is the inspiration for a number of songs including Europapa, as well as others such as Florida 2009 and Papa en Mama. Joost regularly performs at festivals in the Benelux such as Pinkpop and Lowlands, and has to date released 8 studio albums.
His first breakthrough into the European market was with the song “Friesenjung”, a collaboration with German rapper Ski Aggu, which is an adaptation of a song by East Frisian comedian Otto Waalkes, the song reached number 1 in both Austria and Germany.
His song for Eurovision, Europapa, which was written alongside 6 others, is already a commercial success in both the Netherlands and Flanders in Belgium.
The Netherlands at Eurovision
The Netherlands are one of the founding countries of the ESC, having performed the very first song ever on the Eurovision stage back in 1956. While the result of “De Vogels van Holland” is unknown, the Netherlands have clocked 5 wins, with their most recent in 2019. However the Netherlands are also known to have had the longest ever non qualification streak in the semi-final era – they missed out on the final a whopping 8 times between 2005-2012.
Joost Klein represented the Netherlands in 2024 with the song “Europapa”. While he was ultimately disqualified, he would have made it to the final, placing second in his semifinal with 182 points.
Do you think The Netherlands will participate at Eurovision 2025? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr, Threads and Bluesky as we gear up for Eurovision 2025!
News Source: SongfestivalPodcast.NL
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
Rory Gannon