Further developments have been made in the Joost Klein incident.
At the request of Joost Klein’s defense, the prosecutor in Sweden asked their dutch colleagues to conduct a number of additional interrogations of people who were either present or involved in the incident which Joost Klein is being charged in.
On Monday 15th July 2024, A spokeswoman for the national prosecutor’s office announced that these interrogations have been completed, and that the reports will be sent to Sweden this week, as Dutch newspaper ad.nl have reported.
However; it could be a while before we get any news out of this, as Joost Klein’s Swedish lawyer Jan-Ake Fält, is expecting the interrogations to be passed on to him with some delay: “They will still have to be translated into Swedish, which will take some extra time… Initially, it was expected that the case against Klein would be heard in early June, but there has now been a considerable delay… We first have to wait and see whether the prosecutor actually goes ahead with the case, but I expect that a hearing will not take place until the end of the year. The agendas are full and this case is not a high priority in Sweden.”
Throwback to Eurovision 2024
On May 10th, the day before the grand final of Eurovision 2024, Joost Klein did not perform in the dress rehearsal for the final, and soon after, the EBU released a statement regarding the Dutch singer: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice. We have further comment at this time and will update in due course.”
On May 11th, just hours before the live grand final of Eurovision 2024 was due to take place, the EBU confirmed that Joost Klein would not be performing in the final, and therefore, The Netherlands would be disqualified from the contest. The final went ahead with 25 countries, and The Netherlands were still allowed to vote.
In response, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS released their own statement, in which they disagreed with the EBU’s decision to disqualify Joost Klein and The Netherlands from the Eurovision 2024 grand final.
So now what?
Just over one week after the grand final of Eurovision 2024, Joost Klein’s lawyer came forward and firmly denied any allegations against him, and SVT reported that Joost Klein’s attorney has stated that the artist unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.
Towards the beginning of June 2024, AVROTROS released a new statetement regarding the ongoing situations with the Joost Klein incident, and the various other situations surrounding Eurovision 2024 in general. The broadcaster confirmed that they would will be keeping their Eurovision 2025 participation under consideration, and have yet to give a definate answer on whether they will participate or not.
What are your thoughts on the whole incident surrounding Joost Klein and his disqualification from the Eurovision 2024 final? What do you think will come of this case in Sweden? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Photo credit: Corrine Cummings / EBU
