Netherlands – Page 2 – euro-vision.blog

Adjustments 2025

The Eurovision Song Contest (EBU) organisation is making a number of organisational adjustments in the run-up to the next edition. The changes follow the results of an independent investigation into the last edition in May in Malmö, Sweden.

Among other things, a new director will be appointed, who will oversee the work of the show’s current executive supervisor, Martin Österdahl. The organisation announced this in a press release on Monday.

In addition to appointing the new director, the EBU will also focus on clarifying the rules for delegations, working more with fan clubs and influencers and strengthening security measures.

Several participants, including Swiss winner Nemo and Irish Bambie Thug, were critical after the Song Contest in Sweden. The atmosphere behind the scenes was said to have been “very intense”. The EBU was also criticised for the disqualification of Dutch participant Joost Klein after an incident with a camerawoman. In addition, the Israeli entry reported bullying behind the scenes.

AVROTROS says it is pleased that serious recommendations are being made. “It seems that the EBU wants to make serious work of structural changes,” says a spokesperson for the broadcaster. “We will closely monitor whether words are converted into actions in the coming period and will consider our participation in 2025 on that basis.”

No(r)Way

Norway, like the Netherlands, is waiting for the time being to confirm its participation in the next Eurovision Song Contest. Stig Karlsen, head of the Norwegian delegation, first wants to hear what improvements the organiser of the Song Contest wants to implement.

Karlsen told the newspaper Aftenposten that Norway intends to participate again in 2025, but that changes are needed. “We have not yet confirmed our participation,” he said. According to the Norwegians, the outcome of the ongoing investigation into the last edition of the Song Contest is important. “We cannot go into another year with so many conflicts and protests,” Karlsen said.

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK has asked the organiser of the Song Contest, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to consider the participation of countries that are in the middle of an armed conflict, such as Israel. “Perhaps such countries that cause noise should temporarily step aside,” Karlsen suggested.

On Thursday, AVROTROS and the NPO announced that the Netherlands will only participate next year if the EBU implements or promises a number of changes. Earlier this week, the European broadcasting association announced an independent investigation into various complaints about an unsafe atmosphere during the event in Malmö.

The last edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, was an eventful one. For example, some people did not agree that Israel was allowed to participate despite the war in Gaza, which led to demonstrations in Malmö.

Some delegations did not always feel safe or noticed a tense atmosphere. Several countries filed complaints with the EBU and artists, including the Norwegian band Gate, also considered withdrawing.

Doubts

Only when AVROTROS is confident that the Song Contest will be structurally adjusted to “put the artists and their musical message central again”, will the broadcaster consider participating for future Eurovisions.

Earlier this week, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that it had commissioned an independent investigation into its own organisation.

The EBU did this after complaints about an unsafe atmosphere at the last edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The Song Contest delegations will be questioned (anonymously) for this investigation.

AVROTROS, like other participating broadcasters, has been asked to cooperate in an investigation by the EBU. The broadcaster has decided to cooperate “with the necessary reservations”.

“AVROTROS believes that a broader, in-depth and truly independent investigation is needed to address structural problems.”

According to the broadcaster, not only the working methods of the organisation and the EBU in Malmö should be investigated by “a recognised and independent research agency”.

AVROTROS also wants an investigation into “the independent role and mandate of the committee of delegated participating countries, the rules, procedures and appeal options for complaints and the increased pressure on the artists and delegations in the run-up to and during the Song Festival”.

The broadcaster still believes that the disqualification of Dutch participant Joost Klein was unnecessary and disproportionate. Klein is the first artist to be excluded from participation while the Song Festival was already underway.

The singer is said to have made a threatening gesture towards a camerawoman. The Justice Department is currently investigating the incident.

The NPO (Dutch Public Broadcasting) agrees with the criticism of the broadcaster. “We support the conditions that AVROTROS sets for a possible subsequent participation”, a spokesperson said. Source: nu.nl

Global Papa

We will never know what would have happened if Joost Klein had been allowed to participate in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, but he impressed Europe even with disqualification. The singer stormed the charts with Europapa last week.

The final of the Eurovision Song Contest attracts millions more viewers every year than the semi-finals that take place during the week. Klein missed his chance to appeal to this large audience because he was disqualified after the second semi-final. Yet this is not reflected in his chart success.

Europapa is the most listened to entry of the year on Spotify. The counter now stands at more than 83 million streams, a significant part of which have of course also been collected in the Netherlands.

He keeps the Italian Angelina Mango at bay, who has been played 72 million times with her hit la noia. Europapa peaked at 22nd place on Spotify’s global hit list a few days after the Eurovision Song Contest. That’s higher than any other entry.

Joost Klein is also doing well in the official charts in Europe. It took first place in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and is at the top among our southern neighbors. In addition, Klein is the highest ranked Eurovision participant in Sweden, Finland and Germany. There he leaves the eventual winner, Nemo from Switzerland, behind him.

Nemo is also doing well in the charts with their winning song The Code. In many European countries they rank highly and in their home country the song is in first place. Baby Lasagna from Croatia, which received the most votes from the public and finished second, can also count on chart success. His Rim Tim Tagi Dim is the most frequently and highly rated after the songs of Joost and Nemo.

Klein’s success is not limited to Europe. The singer is also heavily played in the United States, where the Eurovision Song Contest is not very popular. Billboard reports that American users accounted for more than 7 percent of the 23 million Spotify streams. The last time a Eurovision song achieved such a large share of listeners in the US was when the Italian band Maneskin became successful worldwide.

Europapa’s figures are extra striking, because Klein largely performs the song in Dutch, Billboard reports. Europapa was listened to a total of 1.75 million times in the US last week, which is more than twice as many times as Nemo’s The Code.

Klein has not yet managed to find a place in the official American chart Billboard Hot 100. However, he is at fourteenth place in Billboard’s dance chart. Source: nu.nl.

Denial

Joost Klein did not threaten anyone during the incident after the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. This is what his lawyer Jan-Ake Fält said to the Swedish broadcaster SVT. According to the lawyer, the singer denies having committed any criminal offences.

Klein was disqualified from the final of the Eurovision Song Contest last weekend due to an incident with a camerawoman. “As I understand it, there was an agreement between him and the organization,” the lawyer explains. “Because it is a sensitive moment for him, he would not be filmed leaving the stage. He would be met by his team, but still the camerawoman was there.”

According to the lawyer, Klein asked her to stop filming, which she did not do. “Then he pushed the camera, but he denies threatening her.”

The lawyer tells ANP that Klein is having a hard time with the situation. “He of course feels completely distraught by everything that has happened. And rightly so, because it has been completely taken out of context. Of course he is sad that he was not allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as a result.”

According to SVT, the case should occur in Sweden at the beginning of June. The police use a faster procedure for the investigation, because there is enough evidence. So he will hear within a few weeks whether he will be prosecuted or not. Source: nu.nl

This is my last publication/forwarding on the ‘Joost News’ until there has been a ruling by the Swedish court.

Unpleasantness

What should have been a fun musical party turned out to be a debacle for the Netherlands. Today it turned out that the Netherlands had already reported an unsafe atmosphere before the disqualification. Ireland, Lithuania and Norway also spoke out critically.

“Fuck the EBU!” These are not just the words of Eurovision commentator Cornald Maas after Joost Klein’s disqualification, they are also the words used by Irish artist Bambie Thug after the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. They both addressed the organizer of the festival, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

After the final, the Lithuanian entry wrote on social media that it would have been better if the entire party had been stopped after the first semi-final and now the Norwegian band Gate is also speaking out critically. “Withdrawing was an option until the last minute. We ultimately had constructive discussions with the EBU and that was just good enough for us to continue.”

Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal are all said to have threatened to withdraw due to the atmosphere behind the scenes, which was described as tense by several participants. On Tuesday it emerged that the Netherlands and Norway were also among the countries that reported the working atmosphere.

When asked, AVROTROS informed nu.nl that it had made an official report of the unsafe atmosphere behind the scenes. They already did that on Friday, when Joost Klein had not yet been disqualified.

The disqualification of Joost Klein may feel like the moment that everything went wrong for the Dutch, but there was already a lot of pressure on the event in the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest. Israel’s participation made it perhaps the most politically charged edition in the 68 years that the festival has been held.

From the very first Eurovision events, participants were asked for their opinion on Israel’s entry, which sometimes led to emotional moments. After the final, Bambie Thug was crying to journalists because they had experienced so much pressure to ignore political opinions that it no longer felt sincere.

Bambie Thug is also the artist who was commissioned by the organization to remove the word ‘ceasefire’ in old Irish script from their face. The watermelon, painted on the chest of Australia’s entry was overlooked by the organization: the fruit is also seen as a statement of support for the Palestinians. Former participant Eric Saade received an angry response from the EBU after he wore a kaffiya during a performance. The scarf also symbolizes a signal of commitment to Palestine.

Things also went wrong in the commentators’ booths. For example, the Israeli colleague of Cornald Maas and Jacqueline Govaert announced the Irish entry as “the artist who speaks negatively about Israel”. The Irish delegation then filed a complaint with the EBU and the commentator was reprimanded.

The performance of Portuguese singer Iolanda during the final never appeared on social media because she had, among other things, the Palestinian flag painted on her nails. Such a political statement is prohibited according to the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest and therefore the artist could have been disqualified. It is unclear why this did not happen.

The Portuguese broadcaster RTP has not only been critical of the exclusion of Iolanda’s performance on social media, they also find it unacceptable that the EBU used an “anti-booing system” during the semi-final and final. As a result, the booing of the EBU and Israel’s entry was less received by the viewers at home than in the audience.

“For an organization like the EBU and for an organization like RTP and the European public media service, the fight against fake news, misinformation and the manipulation of information is a constant battle. It is unacceptable that this is possible. This method distorts the truth.”

AVROTROS is also critical: “We believe that when a musician performs you should always show what it does to the audience.”

As always, the European Broadcasting Union is difficult to reach, but responded to the angry reactions in an official statement. The organization places the blame mainly on the participating countries themselves.

“We find it very unfortunate that some delegations did not adhere to the rules during the event and during broadcasts. We have spoken to several delegations about incidents that have come to our attention. The EBU continues to engage with the chairmen of delegations and will do an evaluation of this Eurovision Song Contest.”

“In this way we hope to be able to move forward in a positive way, in a way where everyone respects the values of this event. Individual problems will be discussed in a subsequent meeting.” Source: nu.nl

After Party

Things are going “pretty well” with Joost Klein, who participated in the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of the Netherlands but was disqualified hours before the final. This is what Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen, Head of Delegation at AVROTROS, said to RTL Boulevard on Sunday.

“It was an eventful weekend with a lot of emotions, which have still not fully settled or been processed. We are of course very disappointed,” says Van de Nieuwenhuijzen, who is also chairman of the selection committee. The entire delegation watched the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening, while enjoying “pizza, cola and a few glasses of wine”.

“Joost is doing quite well,” Van de Nieuwenhuijzen continues. Klein even went to an official Eurovision afterparty on the night from Saturday to Sunday. “Joost is a handsome and strong personality. That’s how he stands and that’s how he deals with it.”

X shows a photo of a Eurovision fan and Klein at the party. “I’m not into negativity,” Klein reportedly said about his presence at the afterparty. The fan also shares a fragment of dancing to Europapa during the party. Source: nu.nl

Highlight

For me, highlight of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was the hilarious and awkward moment for Martin Österdahl, supervisor of the EBU, who -while the public booed loudly-had to give the points for the country that they disqualified today.

Hoogtepunt van het Eurovisie Songfestival 2024 was voor mij het hilarische en gênante moment voor Martin Österdahl, toezichthouder van de EBU, die -terwijl het publiek hem luid uitjouwde- de punten moest geven voor het land dat ze vandaag diskwalificeerden.

Statement AVROTROS

Police Statement

Joost Klein is suspected of threatening an employee of the Eurovision Song Contest. The alleged incident took place on Thursday evening at the Malmö Arena, Swedish police said.

The employee filed a report on Friday. The investigation has now been completed, a police spokesperson told NU.nl on Saturday. The spokesperson does not want to confirm that Joost is the suspect.

In addition to the suspect, the police also interviewed the person who filed the report and a number of witnesses. The investigation has been transferred to the public prosecutor.

On Friday, the EBU, which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest, had already announced that Joost was involved in an incident. That is why his rehearsal and his performance for the jury assessment did not take place on Friday. The EBU did not want to say at the time what had happened in the incident.

It is not yet clear whether Joost will be allowed to perform in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday evening. Source: nu.nl

No Participation

Joost Klein is not allowed to participate in the jury show of the Eurovision Song Contest. The investigation into the incident that emerged earlier today has not yet been completed, AVROTROS reports.

AVROTROS informs the Dutch press that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has not given permission to participate in the show taking place in the Malmö Arena tonight. The professional jury therefore assesses the performance from the second semi-final.

The EBU is investigating an incident involving Klein. No further details have been shared. According to rumors from the Swedish broadcaster SVT, it concerns a violent incident in which the artist is involved. This has not been confirmed in any way.

The EBU speaks of “discussions” that are still ongoing with broadcaster AVROTROS. It is now unclear when anything will be decided.

Tonight would be an important moment for Klein: half of the points awarded on Saturday evening will already be determined during the jury show. On the evening before the final, professional juries submit their points.

During the rehearsal of the finale it became clear that something was going on around Klein. The artist should have been fifth on stage, but the Netherlands was skipped and rehearsals went straight to Israel. Klein did participate in the flag parade that is part of the opening ceremony.

Belarus was refused to participate in 2021 due to the political connotation of the song that the country wanted to submit. In the 68 years that the Eurovision Song Contest has been taking place, it has never happened that a country has been disqualified during the festival. Source: nu.nl

Investigation Incident

Joost Klein skipped his place in the Eurovision Song Contest rehearsal on Friday afternoon. The European Broadcasting Union is investigating an “incident” involving the artist. It is unclear what is going on.

“We are currently investigating an incident surrounding the Dutch entry. Klein will not rehearse for the time being,” the statement said. The EBU will not comment further.

It is unclear whether Klein will still be allowed to do his rehearsals at a later date. No statements are made in the audience about Klein’s absence.

AVROTROS, the broadcaster that accompanies Klein during the Eurovision Song Contest, was not available for comment. Source: nu.nl.

Through to the Final

The Netherlands has secured a place in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Joost Klein and his Europapa are through to the final on Saturday, May 11.

Klein was the third to hear that he has a place in the final. So the artist didn’t have to sit in suspense for too long. It is not yet clear which half he will be in: that will be determined by the organization at a later time.

Latvia, Norway and Austria are also through to the final on Saturday. Furthermore, Israel, Estonia and Greece managed to get a ticket for the final. In addition, Switzerland, Georgia and Latvia can also take the stage again on Saturday in the hope of winning the Eurovision Song Contest.

The Belgian singer Mustii is not through. Denmark, Malta, San Marino, the Czech Republic and Albania also do not go to the final.

Croatia, Ukraine and Ireland already managed to qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday. Furthermore, Serbia, Portugal and Slovenia qualified for the final, as did Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus and Luxembourg. Australia, Poland, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Iceland then canceled.

Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Sweden are automatically through to May 11. Source: nu.nl

Genius or Madness?

The Dutch TV Guides pay attention to the Eurovision Song Contest this week. The Veronica Superguide pays attention to the Dutch act of 2024: Joost Klein, and asks on their cover: Genius or madness?

It’s ‘that time of year’ again and this time it’s Joost Klein who represents the Netherlands with the crazy Europapa at the Eurovision Song Contest, which is now being held in Sweden. Remarkable? Rather!

There are few songs that cause as much controversy as that of Joost Klein, our entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Europapa, with a pounding gabber beat full of creative rhyme schemes and wordplay, is very different from our previous entries. Many people wonder: is Europapa a brilliant move or are we going completely wrong with this? According to Alexander van Eenennaam, music journalist at the AD and Song festival expert, it is only logical that the relatively unknown Joost Klein and his song were chosen. “Since Anouk’s participation in 2013, the selection committee has only looked at the song itself and no longer at the fame of the artist. That explains why Joost was considered in the first place,” he explains. “The other songs that had a chance were more common songs, which we have often seen at the Eurovision Song Contest. Europapa may be a bit crazy, but according to the jury it was really the very best song. It may not be to your taste, personally I wouldn’t put the song on at home, but the song is excellent within its genre.”

Alexander emphasizes that there is more behind the song there is only some happy hardcore. Europapa tells the story of Joost who lost both parents at a young age. In the song, he travels through Europe as an orphan to find himself. His parents gave him a broad vision of the world in their upbringing, namely that there are no boundaries. After a long chopping session to some pounding beats, Joost immediately addresses his parents. “I miss you every day, is what I secretly whisper. See, dad, I listened to you,” sings the blonde Frisian. A surprisingly emotional end to the cheerful song. “That emotional charge is important, because it makes Europapa more than just a gimmick,” the journalist explains. It is perhaps also the biggest difference from this year’s other entries. For example, Finland has the song No Rules! from the dance duo Windows95man. It is cheerful, striking and, like Joost, harks back to the recognizable and popular music of the nineties, but still misses the point. The song revolves around a man with long curly hair, a white cap and a shirt with the Windows 95 logo on it. He also wears skin-colored briefs until he finally finds pants. The message: don’t take everything so seriously. In any case, it makes a much less impression with the bookmakers than Joost, as the act is currently at number thirteen.

In 2019, the Netherlands made history thanks to Duncan Laurence, whose emotional ballad Arcade took first place. Europapa is so much different from Duncan’s entry. The question is why we didn’t go for a quiet emotional song again? Alexander notes that the pace of Eurovision entries has increased every year. In 2024, there are almost no ballads. According to the AD journalist, this has to do with a major change in the voting procedure. Where everything used to be in the hands of the professional jury, nowadays the opinion of the viewer also plays a major role. During the semi-finals, the public decides via televoting which country will go to the final. And that can be useful for Joost, the Eurovision expert explains. “Ballads don’t do well with the viewers. They are less likely to enter your living room. Such a striking song as Europapa is more likely to attract the attention of people at home and get more votes.” This is also where the power of social media comes into play, something Joost has mastered well. “He is a born marketer and grew up with social media. He is so good at it that he can easily reach people at home.” He previously proved that he knows how to gain fans through social media with his hit Friesenjung, which ended up in countries such as Germany and Austria via TikTok videos and became a true hit there.

While writing this article, Joost is number three among the bookmakers. So it’s starting to look more and more like we can make a profit with Europapa. “Anything is possible, but it all depends on the performance itself,” says Alexander. “We don’t know yet what he will do on stage. But without knowing exactly what his act will look like, I dare to predict that he will become number one with the audience. The only question is whether he will able to touch the professional jury with his message.” But according to the music expert, that no longer matters. Europapa has been listened to millions on YouTube and dominates the radio in countries such as Belgium, Germany and France. “Actually, Joost has already won.”

*Text: Merel van Baal; Veronica Superguide*

Upon the Sleeve

On the eve Joost Klein has started his Eurovision Song Contest adventure and is considered one of the European favorites. Tuesday was his first rehearsal on the Malmö-Arena stage. What are his chances and why does Europapa have so much power?

When he left for Malmö in Sweden, Joost Klein could hardly disguise his annoyance about it: he was not happy that the Eurovision Song Contest rehearsals would now be somewhat visible. It ruins the surprise effect of his act – exactly what Klein’s performance always relies on. He prefers to keep everything secret. “You’re not going to film a magician during rehearsals, are you?” he asks in front of the camera at Schiphol.

These are rules that the autonomous Frisian artist will have to deal with over the next week and a half. The Eurovision Song Contest is a media circus. A ubiquitous international music festival that is widely publicized both before and during on social media, blogs and fan sites. And then the Eurovision fire will really flare up from Sunday, with the official opening of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest with 37 participating countries.

The first semi-final with fifteen countries is on Tuesday. Then Thursday is the second semi-final – Joost Klein’s. In the most favorable position of the evening, last, he plays for the Netherlands.

In the meantime, you can picture him in his bright blue suit with those exorbitant shoulder pads and white hair. Although there also appears to be a black ‘travel variant’. Last Tuesday he did his first rehearsal in the Malmö Arena. The participants are allowed to explore the large stage for half an hour, enough to go through the song three times. Some artists play around with the decor, try out their show clothes. The act can still be adjusted.

Press is not yet welcome. But fragments filtered through the official Eurovision channel on TikTok and Instagram. Klein seemed to keep his cards close to his chest with a somewhat clumsy-austere staging without controversial visuals. Of his two companions, Appie Mussa was dressed as a fluffy blue-yellow bird and the Stunt Kabouter stood behind a turntable/monitor with many wires in a starry blouse. And two dancers danced along in white sweatsuits with European Union stars on the back.

Eurovision Song Contest commentator Cornald Maas immediately confirmed on X that a few visual surprises have not yet been released. There is no doubt that Klein will conspicuously pass on his contagious, energetic dance virus. A dancing gabber army on the screens, who knows? Source: nrc.nl

Europarrot

Joost Klein had his first rehearsals in Malmö on Tuesday. The first photos that have appeared show that his good friend Appie Mussa is dressed in a blue bird suit and Klein has two dancers with him.

The first photos show Appie Mussa in a blue bird suit with a blue tie with stars, standing behind a kind of futuristic keyboard. Another photo also shows Klein’s friend Stunt Gnome behind the same keyboard. Both men had also appeared in the Europapa video clip.

The Eurovision organization describes the background of the act via its website as “a manic visual tour of the song lyrics” projected behind Klein. “It is three minutes of pure dance energy, with Joost standing on stage with two dancers in white tracksuits.”

Klein told NU.nl in advance that he does not like the fact that images of this rehearsal are already being shared. “You’re not going to film rehearsals for a magician, are you?”

The Eurovision Song Contest will take place from May 7 to 11 this year. Joost Klein will be in the second semi-final on May 9 and will be the last to perform. He then hopes to get a ticket for the final on May 11. Source: nu.nl

Douze Points

Nikkie de Jager will give the points on behalf of the Netherlands at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 11. The presenter will do this during a major event in Leeuwarden, AVROTROS announced on Tuesday.

Leeuwarden is the birthplace of Joost Klein, who represents the Netherlands this year. The broadcast will be broadcast live at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof and there will be various performances. Rappers Brunzyn and Bokoedro, good friends of Joost, are among others.

The party is a joint initiative of the municipality of Leeuwarden, the province of Friesland, pop venue Neushoorn, Omrop Fryslân and presenter Sipke Jan Bousema.

It is the first time that De Jager has awarded the points on behalf of the Netherlands. In 2021 she was one of the presenters when the Eurovision Song Contest took place in Rotterdam.

Joost still has to secure a place in the final on May 9 with his song Europapa. The chance that this will not work seems small. According to bookmakers, the singer is one of the favorites for victory in Malmö, Sweden.

Joost Leaves

Joost Klein left for Malmö on Monday morning for the Eurovision Song Contest. The artist has his first rehearsals on Wednesday. “Someone is going to give twelve points anyway.”

“I slept more than I expected,” says Klein, who is preparing for a week full of rehearsals. On Thursday, May 9, he will be in the second semi-final and hopes to get a ticket for the final two days later.

The first rehearsals have already started. Klein will be on stage for the first time in Malmö on Wednesday. Some photos of the performance he will give can be seen via the official Eurovision channel.

Klein is not a fan of that. “You’re not going to film rehearsals for a magician, are you?” He prefers to keep everything secret until the semi-final. “What can we say about our show?” he asks Gover Meit, who will join us as creative director. “No, not that moon landing again,” he says, laughing when Meit whispers something to him.

From the start, Klein has used ‘Twelve points to The Netherlands’ to promote itself. By this he refers to the maximum number of twelve points that a jury can award to an entry.

How sure is he of that now? “Well, someone is going to give twelve points anyway. Come on, that’s the bare minimum. My goal was twelve points, that’s what I said from the start. No, what do you want me to say? “Yeah, I’m number one, I’m the best!’ No, I’d like some more coffee for that.”

Joost Klein participates with his song Europapa. He will try to reach the final on May 11. There he would compete against 25 other countries for the win.

Friends Along

Joost Klein takes two good friends to the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. Influencers Appie Mussa and Martijn van Eijzeren will be part of the act.

“We have done crazy things in videos, but this will be really great,” says Mussa on Tuesday evening in Sophie & Jeroen. He calls it “an ultimate honor” to share the stage with Klein.

Klein’s two friends do not reveal exactly what Europapa’s act will look like, or how big their contribution will be. “We have a very childish, fun way of making things, that’s what we’re going to show,” says Van Eijzeren, also known as Stunt Gnome. In addition, the influencer says that participating in the Eurovision Song Contest feels like he can play for the Dutch national team. Mussa and Van Eijzeren can also be seen in Europapa’s video clip.

Govert Meit, also known as Stefano Keizers, also joined Sophie & Jeroen last night. He is the creative director of the act and also a good friend of Klein. He also doesn’t want to say much about the design of the performance. “We worked every day for nine months to turn that three-minute act into something that can please everyone in the world.”

Meit also says that he has been friends with Klein, Mussa and Van van Eijzeren for years. “They often call me their uncle,” he says. “They are my creative children, who are super original just like me. I believe in that very much. I believe that it is the future, reaching people with individuality and positivism.”

Europapa is currently number three among bookmakers. Klein’s semi-final in Malmö is on Thursday evening, May 9. Source: nu.nl.

‘Moon Landing’ in Malmö

Gover Meit thinks that viewers of the Eurovision Song Contest next month when it is the Netherlands’ turn will see something that has never been seen before during the event.

“It will be a new form of the moon landing. It has never been done before,” said the theater maker, who will go to Malmö as creative director, on Saturday in Shownieuws.

“People are not going to believe that this is physically possible,” he continued, without going into details about Joost Klein’s act. Gover is a good friend of the Dutch entry and can also be seen in Europapa’s video clip. He probably won’t be on stage himself. Gover Meit says he is needed “behind the scenes”. “It’s also nice for people that they don’t have to look at me all the time.”

Joost previously said that something awaits the Eurovision Song Contest that “has never happened before”. “It’s just going to be one big party,” he said. Source: Shownieuws.nl

Netherlands in Top 3

Joost Klein has risen again at the betting offices. His Eurovision Song Contest song Europapa has been in third place since Friday.

When the artist released the song on February 29, he was still somewhere around twentieth place in the list of participating countries. Now he only has to pass Croatia and Switzerland to the number one spot.

According to the betting offices, the chance that Klein will win the song festival is now 11 percent. Previously this was only 5 percent.

The increase follows after Klein posted a photo and a video with the Finnish Käärijä, one of the favorite artists of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, on Instagram on Wednesday. Source: nu.nl