"Are shocked"

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Dutch singer Joost Klein (pictured) will not be performing in the final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest following a complaint from a production employee.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Martin Meissner)

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) excluded co-favorite Netherlands from the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday - just a few hours before the final. "It is not appropriate for him (meaning Joost Klein, pictured above) to continue to take part in the contest", the EBU stated.

"We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and speculation on social media, no other performer or delegation member was involved in this incident," read the statement, which was also published on X (formerly Twitter, see post below). According to the statement, Swedish police investigated a complaint from a female member of the production crew following an incident after Joost's performance in Thursday night's semi-final.

Speculation about the background to the"incident"
 There is speculation about the background to the "incident". The Swedish newspaper "Aftonbladet" speculates that Klein may have become violent towards a member of the production staff. The television station Sveriges Television, on the other hand, claims that it was an attack on a photographer.

No connection with Israel's bid
The committees had already withdrawn for a crisis meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the "incident". Contrary to initial assumptions, there was no connection with the Israeli delegation, whose appearance in Malmö is controversial. The Dutchman had previously been denied both the opportunity to perform in the rehearsal for the ESC final and to take part in the jury final on Friday evening.

TV broadcaster: "Drastic decision " 
Dutch broadcaster Avrotros, which had sent Klein into the ESC race, announced on its website that it considered the disqualification to be inappropriate and that it was "shocked by this decision." NPO, the Dutch public broadcaster, also regretted the disqualification, according to the German news agency dpa: "NPO considers this to be a very drastic decision." This is a disappointment for the millions of Song Contest fans in the Netherlands and other European countries. The course of events will be evaluated in detail with all those involved after the contest.

This means that the final will take place at 9pm with only 25 countries instead of 26. ORF 1 will broadcast live from 9pm - with Andi Knoll, but without Joost Klein.