12 August 2024 , 20:49
459
0
Prosecutor says it cannot be proved the Dutch contestant caused ‘serious fear’ in backstage incident involving camera operator
Sweden has closed an investigation into the Dutch Eurovision contestant Joost Klein, who was disqualified from the 2024 final in Malmö after a camera operator accused him of “threatening” behaviour, the prosecution authority has announced.
The singer was barred from performing his song Europapa hours before the Eurovision final on 11 May, after a female member of the production crew claimed he had made a threatening movement towards her after his semi-final performance two days earlier.
The Dutch broadcaster responsible for Klein’s entry, Avrotros, said at the time that he had been filmed directly after coming off stage, “against clearly made agreements” and against his repeated indications that he did not want to be filmed, and that his disqualification was therefore not proportional.
On Monday, the Swedish prosecution authority said it had come to the conclusion that Klein had made “a movement that hit the woman’s film camera” but that the course of events “was fast and was perceived differently by the witness of the incident”.
“Today I have closed the investigation because I cannot prove that the act was capable of causing serious fear or that the man had any such intention,” said the senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson.
Avrotros told the Dutch press agency ANP that it was still “deeply disappointed” about Klein’s disqualification and planned to have a meeting with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the contest’s organiser, to discuss the matter.
Klein’s manager told ANP: “We, as a team, are incredibly happy and relieved that this period of uncertainty has now come to an end. Finally, we can say it out loud: there was never a reason for this case.”
The EBU, however, said it stood by its decision to disqualify the Dutch contestant. “This was an investigation into whether a criminal act was committed and not whether Mr Klein behaved inappropriately and breached ESC rules and procedures”, the broadcasting union said in a statement. “This new development therefore does not have any impact on our decision which we stand by completely.”
The 68th edition of the multi-country song competition was marked by large pro-Palestine protests around the Malmö Arena in Sweden’s third-largest city, with some criticising the organisers for allowing Israel to take part while engaged in a military conflict with Gaza.
At a tense press conference after the semi-final, several artists including Klein appeared to voice their frustration with the row over Israel’s inclusion overshadowing the competition.
Switzerland’s Nemo went on to win contest for the song The Code, becoming the first artist identifying as non-binary to claim victory.