Eurovision chaos as major star not rehearsing 'until further notice' after 'incident'

Eurovision 2024 nearly pulled out of the song contest, just 25 minutes before the live final.The grand final of the competition took place in Malmö, Sweden – the home of 2023 winner Loreen – on Saturday May 11. However, the show was mired by widespread political backlash over the inclusion of Israel amid the Hamas-Israel conflict.Many of the contestants, including Ireland’s Bambie Thug and UK representative Olly Alexander, faced pressure to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine.

Eurovision 2024 broke global viewing figures despite protests over the inclusion of Israel at this year’s event.According to figures from the EBU, 163 million viewers tuned into the three live events including the Grand Final.The total reach of the contest also increased by one million people compared to 2023 and has grown by two million since 2022’s event in Turin.The viewing share for the Grand Final was also 46.7 per cent – the highest since 2006 and almost triple the broadcast channels average (17.6 per cent).Germany recorded the highest audience for the Grand Final with an average of 8.1million viewers watching on Das Erste and ONE. The United Kingdom also had the second highest audience with 7.7 million viewers tuning in for the Grand Final on BBC One despite viewing figures being down compared to last year’s event in Liverpool.Online, the Eurovision Song Contest’s digital platforms had another record year with 486million unique accounts reached on TikTok, during the event weeks, more than four times as many as that in 2023.Up to 42million unique viewers across 231 countries and territories also watched content on the official YouTube channel during the week of the live shows.Speaking about the record results across the board, Jean Philip De Tender, EBU Deputy Director General said: “These incredible numbers show the Eurovision Song Contest’s huge global impact – online, on TV and importantly musically.

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was disqualified from the contest in Malmö, Sweden just hours before Saturday’s finale (May 11). At the time, police stated that the decision was made after he was accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of the production crew.The incident marked the first time that an act had been disqualified after reaching the Grand Final in the competition’s 68-year history and, before his disqualification, the 26-year-old singer was named as one of the favourites to win.Jimmy Modin, a spokesperson for the police, spoke to The Guardian about the incident and revealed that it was looking likely that Klein will face legal action.Now, a week after his disqualification, the singer performed at Freshtival in Enschede, telling the crowd “My name is Klein (short) but I’m standing tall,” referring to the Eurovision incident (per Dutchnews).A post shared by Joost Klein (@joostklein)Modin confirmed that the investigation was over, and a decision about whether or not to press charges should arrive “within the next couple of weeks”.After news of his disqualification, Dutch broadcaster Avrotros said it was “shocked” by the decision, and stated that while Klein made a “threatening move” towards a female camera operator, he had not touched her (via The Guardian).“Against the clearly made agreement, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the green room.

Eurovision Song Contest 2024.This year’s competition, which was ultimately won by Switzerland’s Nemo, was surrounded by controversy for allowing Israel to compete amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.A statement shared by the EBU to both The Mirror and The Irish Times read: “We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts. We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.It continued: “The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.A post shared by European Broadcasting Union (@ebu_hq)“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”The statement’s release comes after the slew of controversies that took over this year’s edition of the song contest.

Eurovision ratings have apparently plunged amidst several controversies and boycott calls for this year’s edition.This year, the contest has faced criticism for its inclusion of Israel due to their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Due to this political neutrality clause, the EBU announced they reserved the right to remove Palestinian flags and symbols, and would go on to censor Irish contestant Bambie Thug for wearing the word ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ as a hidden message on their costume.Israel’s inclusion prompted boycott calls from the LGBT+ community towards UK entry Olly Alexander, reasoning that the competition was “providing cultural cover and endorsement for the catastrophic violence that Israel has unleashed on Palestinians.”Over 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned this year – including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit – and more than 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals have signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well.

Eurovision entry Iolanda’s video was reportedly replaced with previous footage due to “pro-Palestine motifs” on her nails.Last night’s contest saw Swiss entry Nemo crowned as its first nonbinary winner in a year marked with controversy due to the EBU’s struggle to enforce its political neutrality clause. This was especially notable in the inclusion of Israel this year, due to their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Bambie Thug has accused Eurovision organisers of “not supporting them” over claims that the Israeli broadcasters “incited violence” against them.In an interview after their performance at Eurovision 2024, the Irish singer-songwriter claimed the Israeli broadcaster KAN “incited violence against me twice, three times.”“We brought it up to the EBU,” they told reporters. “They said they’d follow up.

Olly Alexander, Britain's Eurovision Song Contest entrant for this year, has shared his thoughts following the nightmarish event in Sweden.

BBC's Eurovision viewership plummeted as a global boycott impacted figures for its broadcast of the Song Contest this year with a significant drop in viewers.The grand finale on Saturday night was snubbed by millions, following a widespread boycott, leading to the BBC witnessing a loss of nearly two million viewers from last year's numbers.The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is a Palestinian-led campaign advocating for various forms of protest against Israel, called for a boycott of this year's contest.This action came after the decision by the Eurovision Broadcasting Union to allow Israel to participate despite its conflict with Palestine, while Russia was excluded from the competition in 2022 due to its military actions in Ukraine.The boycott seems to have made a dent, with a noticeable dip in the viewership compared to previous years. On Sunday, TV critic and podcast host Scott Bryan tweeted: "Eurovision was watched by 7.6 million last night, down from 9.9 million - a 23% fall.

Bambie Thug has given an update on their Eurovision complaint, claiming that the EBU confirmed Israli broadcaster KAN had “broken the rules of conduct”.Earlier today, it was reported that the Irish Eurovision entry lodged a complaint with the Eurovision organisers due to commentary made by a broadcaster on KAN. The comments, which told viewers to “prepare your curses” and claim Bambie’s performance was “the most scary” of the night, were labelled “in breach of the rules” of the EBU by Bambie.Now, the Cork singer has taken to their social media to claim that the EBU “confirmed” KAN had breached the rules, which “contradicts” a statement they had seen from the EBU Director General Noel Curran.“Over the last few days I have raised multiple complaints to the EBU regarding instances I have experienced this week.

Eurovision entrant was booed during her live performance on the show last night, while other parts of the audience reacted with cheers.The 68th Eurovision Song Contest took place last night (May 11) in Malmö, Sweden, and was won by Switzerland’s Nemo, whose song ‘The Code’ won the jury vote and came fifth in the public vote.Israel’s entry ‘Hurricane’ by Eden Golan did not score high with the jury, but received one of the highest scores in the public vote. Her performance came early in the night, and was met with a decidedly mixed reaction from the live audience.As fan footage from inside the room appears to show, there was a somewhat negative reaction from parts of the audience during Golan’s rendition of her song, with cries of “Free Palestine” being audible.

The official page of the Netherlands' Songfestival, which sends acts to Eurovision Song Contest, has finally broken its silence on Dutch act Joost Klein's disqualification.They revealed that the incident leading to Joost's disqualification involved him being filmed despite his repeated objections.The statement from the Netherlands' Songfestival also mentioned that Dutch radio and television broadcaster AVROTROS found Joost Klein's disqualification "disproportionate". Detailing why Eurovision officials have barred Joost from participating in Saturday's final, the statement read: "An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance.

Eurovision entrant Käärijä has announced he will not participate as the spokesperson for the Finnish jury hours before the finale is due to start.Käärijä, who was the runner-up to Eurovision last year with his song ‘Cha Cha Cha’, took to social media to announce that he was pulling out of announcing the Finnish jury’s points for tonight’s competition.On Instagram Stories, Käärijä wrote: “I have decided not to participate as the spokesperson for the Finnish jury in tonight’s Eurovision finale. Giving out the points does not feel right”.

Eurovision entry Slimane has interrupted his own rehearsal performance to give an unexpected speech about “peace”.During rehearsals today, Slimane made a surprising change to his song ‘Mon Amour’, where he replaced his a capella section with a speech about “peace”.Footage of the performance shows the French-Algerian singer saying: “When I was a child, I dreamed of music. I dreamed about this dream – to be a singer, to sing about peace.

The Independent. A snippet of the interview was shared to X, showing Thug wearing a keffiyeh scarf and fighting back tears.

Dutch act Joost Klein will not compete in the Eurovision Song Contest grand final while Swedish police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour, the European Broadcasting Union said.

Eurovision favourite Joost Klein has been kicked out of the song contest following a backstage incident yesterday.The Dutch entrant has been sent home as police investigate a complaint of inappropriate behaviour.The contest organisers said in a statement: "It would not be appropriate for him to continue in the contest" while the legal process takes place. Entering with the song Europapa, a tribute to his late parents, the 26-year-old Dutch rapper and singer had qualified for the grand final on Thursday evening at the Malmo Arena venue in Sweden.

The fate of The Netherlands’ Eurovision entry lies in the balance, after the Dutch representative failed to perform in Friday evening’s jury final.

Eurovision contestant Joost Klein has been disqualified from the contest after being accused of making verbal threats towards a female member of production crew, police have said.Klein was placed under investigation by the organisers yesterday (May 10) due to an “incident” and was not allowed to perform his song ‘Europapa’ during the final dress rehearsal.A police spokesperson confirmed the incident took place after Klein’s performance on Thursday night at the Malmö Arena where the contest is being held.The EBU, which organises the contest, said in a statement: “The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.“Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night’s Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest.“We would like to make it clear that, contrary to some media reports and social media speculation, this incident did not involve any other performer or delegation member.“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards inappropriate behaviour at our event and are committed to providing a safe and secure working environment for all staff at the Contest.