(12 Aug 2024)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Malmo, Sweden – 10 May 2024
1. Various STILLs of Joost Klein of Netherlands arriving on stage for the introduction of the artists at the dress rehearsal for the final at the Eurovision Song Contest (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
2. Wide of arena
3. Wide of signage
STORYLINE:
Sweden on Monday dropped its investigation into a backstage altercation in May involving the Dutch contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest who was expelled from the competition hours before the final.
After fan favorite Joost Klein was booted out, organizers said the reason was a probe by Swedish police into “a complaint made by a female member of the production crew.”
In its new statement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the investigation concluded that "the man made a movement that hit the woman’s camera,” adding that “the course of events was fast and was perceived differently by the witnesses of the incident.”
“I cannot prove that the act was capable of causing serious fear or that the man had any such intention,” senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson said.
He did not name Klein. The 26-year-old singer and rapper had been a bookies’ favorite with his song “Europapa,” an upbeat ode to the continent’s diversity that is also a tribute to his parents, who died when he was a child.
The last-minute disqualification was unprecedented in the 68-year history of Eurovision. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said at the time it was “shocked by the decision.”
On Monday, AVROTROS welcomed the Swedish decision, saying that there was “no evidence of criminal conduct.”
"From the beginning we said that this disqualification was unnecessary and disproportionate” and it planned to meet with the organizer about the issue soon.
“This unjustified disqualification will be central to this conversation,” it said in a statement to The Associated Press.
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