Eurovision 2025: Why was The Netherlands disqualified last year? Joost Klein's controversy explained

The annual song contest returns this week, with 37 countries in total competing to be crowned the new musical champion of Europe. One country which will be hoping for a better showing this year is The Netherlands.

The countries were unceremoniously disqualified from the competition in 2024, the first time in the contest’s history that an entry was disqualified mid-competition.

The moment shocked Eurovision superfans and casual viewers alike, who had watched as Joost Klein performed his song ‘Europapa’ in the semi-final and quickly climbed the odds to become one of the favourites to walk away with the trophy.

However, it all came crashing down for the musician one day before the grand final. But what exactly happened? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why were The Netherlands disqualified from Eurovision last year?

Eyebrows were first raised when Joost was missing from the traditional flag parade during the first dress rehearsal of the grand final, on Friday, May 10. The EBU (European Broadcasting Union) issued a statement clarifying that it was “investigating an incident reported to involving the Dutch artist”, adding that he would not be performing or appearing at rehearsals until further notice.

The EBU was still investigating at the time of the jury show, in which delegations of music experts from each country cast their votes separate from the public. As he was still not granted to be performed, a recording of his performance from the semi-final was used instead.

Following this, it was revealed that Joost Klein had been disqualified from the competition due to an incident in which he allegedly made a “threatening movement” towards a female member of the backstage crew. The incident occured after Joost repeatedly told the crew member not to film him after he had come off stage, with the musician saying that being filmed at that point was “against clearly made agreements”. The EBU also confirmed that the incident had been reported to authorities and was being investigated by local police in Sweden.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS issued a statement at the time, in which Joost’s punishment was described as “very heavy and disproportionate”. The statement read: “We have taken note of the disqualification by the EBU. AVROTROS finds the disqualification disproportionate and is shocked by the decision. We deeply regret this.

“An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police.

“Yesterday and today we consulted extensively with the EBU and proposed several solutions. Nevertheless, the EBU has still decided to disqualify Joost Klein. AVROTROS finds the penalty very heavy and disproportionate. We stand for good manners -let there be no misunderstanding about that- but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.

“We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so excited for tonight. What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe shouldn’t have ended this way.”

As a result of the controversy, The Netherlands withdrew completely from the grand final by refusing to hand out the points from Dutch jury vote. Instead of having YouTuber and ex-Eurovision host Nikki de Jager presenting the votes, they were allocated by the show’s executive supervisor Martin Österdahl.

The police investigation wrapped up on August 12, three months after the alleged incident involving Joost and the female crew member took place. Senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson said that no further action was being taken due to a lack of evidence that the singer "was capable of causing serious fear or that [he] had any such intention”.

Who is representing The Netherlands at Eurovision 2025?

The Netherlands was confirmed as a participant in the 2025 contest following consultations between AVROTROS and the EBU. The broadcaster had sought assurances that there would be “structural adjustments” to avoid any similar situations if they were to join the competition again.

The Netherlands was confirmed to have joined the 2025 cohort on October 23, 2024. It was also revealed that Joost Klein had declined an invitation to represent his country once again after his previous disqualification.

As a result, Cologlese-born Dutch singer-songwriter Claude was selected as the country’s artist, with his song C’est la vie. He will perform the song in the firts semi-final at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.