Eurovision Song Contest: Dutch participant is disqualified

MALMO, Sweden – For Saturday’s finale of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, it’s time for many people to don sequins and sequins – and for others to pick up protest banners and Palestinian flags.

The competition pitting nations against each other for pop music glory is coming to an end in the Swedish city of Malmö, with Croatia and Switzerland among the winners of the trophy and Israel at the center of a political storm.

Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically kicked out by organizers due to an incident backstage. He failed to perform at two dress rehearsals on Friday and the competition’s organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, said it was investigating an “incident”.

The EBU said Swedish police were “investigating a complaint made by a female member of the production team” and it was not appropriate for Klein to join in while the legal process was ongoing.

Although there were rumors that the incident was related to the Israeli delegation, organizers said that the incident “did not involve any other artist or delegation member.”

Although the competition’s motto is “united through music,” this year’s event has drawn large protests from Palestinians and their supporters who say Israel should be excluded for its war against Hamas.

Thousands of people are expected to march through Sweden’s third-largest city with a large Muslim population for a second time this week to demand a boycott of Israel and a ceasefire in the seven-month war. In Finland, a group of about 40 demonstrators stormed the headquarters of public broadcaster YLE on Saturday morning and demanded that it be withdrawn from the song competition because of Israel’s participation.

Several miles (kilometers) from central Malmö, at the Malmö Arena, 25 acts – eliminated from 37 entrants by two semi-final runoffs – will perform three-minute songs in front of a live audience of thousands and an estimated 180 million viewers around the world.

It all makes for a chaotic climax to an event that attracts both admiration and ridicule with its kitschy ethos and passion for pop.

Dean Vuletic, an expert on the competition’s history, says that despite this year’s divisions, “there is no other cultural event that brings Europeans together like Eurovision.”

“Just that moment when everyone is watching the same TV show that is broadcast live in 37 countries – that is something very special.”

This year’s entries range from the emotional to the eccentric. This includes the silly 1990s nostalgia of the Finnish Windows95man, who emerges on stage from a giant egg with very little clothing. Irish band Bambie Thug summons witch spirits to the stage and has brought a scream coach with them to Malmö, while Spanish band Nebulossa bravely reclaims a term used as an insult to women in “Zorra”.

Favorites include Swiss singer Nemo – who would be the first non-binary Eurovision winner if her opera song “The Code” comes top in the voting – and Croatian Baby Lasagna. His song “Rim Tim Tagi Dim” is a rollicking rock number that addresses the issue of young Croatians leaving the country in search of a better life.

Vuletic says that despite the competition’s reputation as disposable bubblegum pop, Eurovision often addresses “political and social issues such as feminism, European integration, gender identity”.

“And I think those are the very interesting songs to look out for, especially because they are the highest rated by the bookmakers,” he said.

However, sometimes songs violate the non-compete clause for overtly “political” statements. Eurovision Song Contest organizers called on Israel to change the original title of its song “October Rain” – an apparent reference to the October 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis and sparked the Gaza war.

Israeli singer Eden Golan has boosted the odds since he performed the power ballad titled “Hurricane” in Thursday’s semi-final. Golan was booed during dress rehearsals but was voted into the final by viewers around the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the 20-year-old Golan for his performance despite “struggling with an ugly wave of anti-Semitism.”

Protesters argue that Israel should not take part in a war that has killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians.

“I don’t think they should take part in this at all because they are committing crimes against humanity,” said local resident Lorenzo Mayr, who took part in a demonstration on Thursday.

The competing musicians feel the pressure, are flooded with messages and insults on social media and are unable to speak out due to the competition rules. Italian contestant Angelina Mango made a statement by entering the Eurovision media center on Friday and performing John Lennon’s “Imagine” as dozens of journalists gathered around her.

Swedish singer Loreen, last year’s Eurovision champion – and one of only two artists to win the competition twice – urged people not to shut down the “community of love” called Eurovision.

“What is happening in the world and in different places today is distorting and traumatizing us all,” she told The Associated Press.

“What heals trauma…. Does trauma heal trauma? Does negativity cure negativity? Does not work like that. The only thing that truly heals trauma – that’s science – is love.”