Swedish police investigate “intimidation” at the Eurovision Song Contest

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Swedish police said on Saturday they had launched an investigation into alleged intimidation at the Eurovision Song Contest after the Dutch contestant was mysteriously withdrawn from rehearsals on the eve of the final.

European Broadcasting Union organizers announced that Dutch competitor Joost Klein had been prevented from rehearsing on Friday due to an unspecified “incident”.

“The police are investigating allegations of intimidation. The crime was committed on Thursday evening in the Malmö Arena,” police spokesman Pelle Vamstad told AFP.

“The suspect, a man, was interviewed. He is not in custody,” Vamstad added.

The person who filed the complaint was involved in Eurovision, police said.

The Dutch broadcaster SVT suspected that the incident with Klein was a confrontation with a photographer.

The Dutch broadcasting association AVROTROS said the investigation was ongoing and it was in “constant discussions” with the EBU.

During rehearsals, Klein paraded with other participants before performances, but did not take the stage when it was his turn.

His song “Europa” is dedicated to his parents, who died when he was young.

At the end of Thursday’s semi-final, the 26-year-old apparently objected to being placed next to Israeli participant Eden Golan and covered his face in several places with a Dutch flag.

This is not the first time that an international conflict has overshadowed the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Russian state broadcaster was expelled from the EBU after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Golan’s song in the competition has already sparked controversy, with protesters calling for Israel to be excluded over the Gaza war.

The song is an adaptation of an earlier version called “October Rain”. She changed it after contest organizers deemed it too political due to apparent references to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.