Eurovision Song Contest, 2024

[Chrill]

Of course there is also the drama around Netherlands performer Joost. It appears he made a threatening gesture (which is vague at best as to what precisely the gesture was) at a camera, after specifically saying he wanted space, there was no physical contact. The EBU is remaining silent, and most of the information is now via AVROTROS, which is the Dutch broadcaster who is signed up with the EBU. Naturally the police are also remaining silent on specifics, which they're likely meant to do regarding official business anyway. So what is the actual truth? Joost & AVROTROS maintain nothing too untoward happened, but... well we know the penalty. AVROTROS also pulled out of doing the live bit for their jury votes too during the scoring, which I'm sure didn't go down unnoticed.

At least this I can shed some light on, having access to Swedish media and with knowledge of how Swedish police operate.

In terms of the police investigation, the police will likely have been summoned after the victim (female TV crew member) reported it to their managers. It would be standard procedure if you were feeling threatened at work to inform the police. The police will investigate and then hand the case over to prosecutors. The police will only arrest you if you've committed a serious crime, and Unlawful Threats is not serious enough to be arrested. After this, prosecutors will decide if there is a case to be pursued or not. The police will never make that decision, unless it's a monetary fine such as a speeding ticket.

Prosecutors can then decide any of the following paths:
1. There is not sufficient evidence that, if it went to trial, they would reasonably be convicted. Therefore, case closed.
2. There IS sufficient evidence, and they would reasonably be convicted. Therefore, set a court date and make a formal accusation of a crime.
3. No crime was committed, for example the act was committed but it was not serious enough to reach the definition of the crime.

According to Swedish media, there are two sides of this story and they differ greatly. Of course they share no details, and I would not want to speculate, but Swedish media seem to think that AVROTROS is not painting an accurate picture of what happened.

[Redirect Left]

According to Swedish media, there are two sides of this story and they differ greatly. Of course they share no details, and I would not want to speculate, but Swedish media seem to think that AVROTROS is not painting an accurate picture of what happened.

I am really hoping that given this is a massive televised event, and so many cameras around even for the rehearsals & jury show it was captured on one of the cameras, either an EBU/Eurovision one, or spectator and given to the Police.
Whichever side is accurate deserves their story told. Whether that is Joost/AVROTROS, or the female crewmember. I'm skeptical whether the public will be informed which side is accurate, but hopefully either way justice is served whichever side it deserves to be fallen upon.

Also I have to say, because it irks me every year. I do hate the way scores are revealed now. Jury votes, and then public votes added later on. It seems an unnecessarily cruel way of doing it. I dread to think the hell that goes on inside a performers own head knowing their 1st place in jury vote might stand for nothing and its all taken away at the literal last second. Not helped by the hosts (all of them, this isn't a sleight against Malin & Petra specifically this year) being so painfully slow as they give the final 3-5 results.

Also Petra, over the 3 Eurovisions she has hosted, I have grown to love her wit & comedic timing. Will it be the last we see of her? Who knows, I hope not though.

[Chrill]

I am really hoping that given this is a massive televised event, and so many cameras around even for the rehearsals & jury show it was captured on one of the cameras, either an EBU/Eurovision one, or spectator and given to the Police.
Whichever side is accurate deserves their story told. Whether that is Joost/AVROTROS, or the female crewmember. I'm skeptical whether the public will be informed which side is accurate, but hopefully either way justice is served whichever side it deserves to be fallen upon.

We will get some indication when they decide whether or not to proceed with the case to trial. If they do, we will receive full details since court documents are public record in Sweden. If they choose not to go to court, we can assume that the Dutch story is the more believable than the TV crew story, or at the very least that no proof exists.

Sweden is very fond of public documents, it is one of our four fundamental laws (essentially our constitution). As part of our "Freedom of the Press Act" which dates back to the 1700s, public access to public records is a fundamental basic law in Sweden and it is supposed to ensure a fair and transparent government. Basically, the only documents we cannot gain access to relate to matters of national security or similar.

This means that yes, I can find out where anyone lives. Yes, I can find out their salary and the taxes they have paid. And yes, I can find out if a neighbour was part of a trial, and the outcome of the trial, and the contents of it. Yes, I can get overtaken by a car driving way too fast, look up their license plate, and find the owner. As well as information about the car, such as engine displacement, number of passengers, miles on the odometer, and more.

[Chrill]

Well, new information is published by Swedish tabloid/newspaper Aftonbladet. As far as tabloids go, they are usually decent. You can question their priorities (celebrity gossip can sometimes take precedence over wars, right? but they have rarely been found to report outright lies, or promote speculation as fact.

They say that the woman who reported this is a female photographer who was employed by the EBU. She is "skärrad", which I would translate as upset/shocked/frightened and has received support from EBU. The source, and I quote, "There is no question about it, he was incredibly aggressive according to multiple people present". They also say "The EBU would not have reacted as they did unless they considered the incident as very serious".

The incident in question was to have happened just as Joost Klein stepped off stage after his performance in Semi Final 2, before making his way to the Green Room. According to Aftonbladet, Klein broke the photographer's camera but did not assault the woman physically.
Source in Swedish

[Redirect Left]

One thing i didn't know and only just found out, last years runner up Käärijä as well as last years Norway entry Alessandra Mele who sung Queen of Kings coming 5th were going to be the spokesperson for speaking their countries votes on the night, both pulled out of their roles for similar reasons, and how it didn't feel right to do so under the shades of grey between the lines that this Eurovision took part under. Then of course we have AVROTROS who pulled out due to the crisis around Joost.
Source for Käärijä: https://yle.fi/a/74-20088195 (Finnish) or https://esctoday.com/195019/eurovision- ... o-step-in/ (English)
Source for Alessandra: https://eurovoix.com/2024/05/11/norway- ... ion-votes/ (English)

A lot of media and some people are referencing it as the worst Eurovision since 1991, i was only 2 when that Eurovision aired, so i don't know what was 'wrong' with it. I think despite the grey between several lines this year, it was overall a decent competition and we had a good range of songs, even if the background to it all was... less than ideal, by far.

Israel won the televote in -a lot- of countries, was that because they thought the song was good, or a political show? Who knows. Either way, only Croatia scored more points than Israel in the televote, scoring 14 more than Israel.

The incident in question was to have happened just as Joost Klein stepped off stage after his performance in Semi Final 2, before making his way to the Green Room. According to Aftonbladet, Klein broke the photographer's camera but did not assault the woman physically.

Ah, damage to property is certainly a serious thing, and given she was a professional photographer working on behalf of/hired by the EBU, I've no doubt it was a very expensive / valuable one. Joost & AVROTROS mention she was asked for space and to not photo or record Joost before it got heated, i wonder if that will count for anything. I know in the UK it is basically a case of "did you leave your own home or other residence? oh no, your right to anonymity and not being recorded has been waived", and often the small print in events you go to is "you will be recorded, if you don't like it don't come, we may also sell/distribute it for X amount of years or indefinitely", I strongly suspect the EBU put that small print to everyone who takes part in Eurovision or is in the audience. So if Sweden is similar, Joost had little right to specifically say "no, no photos/videos" as he came off stage, whatever reason he didn't want to be recorded for was.

Sweden is very fond of public documents, it is one of our four fundamental laws (essentially our constitution). As part of our "Freedom of the Press Act" which dates back to the 1700s, public access to public records is a fundamental basic law in Sweden and it is supposed to ensure a fair and transparent government. Basically, the only documents we cannot gain access to relate to matters of national security or similar.

Ah, another reason to love Sweden. A transparent government that does not hide behind paperwork & bureaucratic red tape.

[orudge]

I enjoyed the show (having not watched any of the semi-finals or songs beforehand), though not so much the controversies of course. I liked the Swiss entry - certainly seems a decent winner. Can't say I found the UK entry overly to my taste, and nor Ireland's, but maybe I'm just getting old and grouchy.

[Chrill]

Swedish media is reporting that the police have secured a guilty plead from Joost Klein on the case of Unlawful Threat and that the case will likely proceed in June. Joost has left Sweden, he is not in custody. The law permits a sentence ranging from monetary fines up to 1 year in prison. I would say a fine as well as a suspended sentence is the most likely outcome if these rumours are true.

I am uncomfortable with the support Joost Klein is receiving, I have also seen hate directed at the woman who reported him. Now, if he is actually sentenced, I hope people will quickly see that the EBU did the right thing to disqualify the Netherlands.

This is the definition of Unlawful Threats according to Swedish law, and it does sound like these sources think he will be found guilty:
If someone raises a weapon at another or otherwise threatens to commit a criminal act in a way that is intended to induce serious fear in the person threatened for their own or for another's safety to person or property, they are sentenced for illegal threats.

[kamnet]

And another Eurovision issue, from Kyiv Independent:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/eu ... 5dfd&ei=36

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The organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest fined the Ukrainian delegation for wearing T-shirts printed with the logo "Free Azovstal Defenders" during the event, Ukrainian artist Alyona Alyona said in an Instagram post published May 14.

According to Alyona Alyona, the Ukrainian delegation chose to defy Eurovision's ban on political messaging by wearing shirts calling for the release of imprisoned Azovstal defenders, the soldiers who defended Ukraine's last stronghold in occupied Mariupol.

"We knew that when they would show replays of the performances of all the artists, they would also show the delegation itself," said Alyona Alyona, whose real name is Aliona Savranenko. So when the camera came up to us, our team quickly opened up and showed our appeal to the whole world."

The T-shirts incurred a fine from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an alliance of public service media organizations that organize the contest along with a host country broadcaster each year. Savranenko did not disclose the amount of the penalty.

[Chrill]

There is a big discussion over on Wikipedia about whether the "2024 Eurovision controversies" deserves a separate page. So many controversies that it does not fit in the standard article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Euro ... ew_article

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The music I have listened to most since Sunday is Switzerland, Croatia, Ireland, and Armenia. Such a pleasant song, I didn't really discover Armenia ahead of the event and had only played it 3 times according to my Last.FM profile. Estonia is also on rotation here! How about you?

[Redirect Left]

Apparently, Eurovision also banned the EU flag, which is a little peculiar to me. Especially given it features on the Dutch acts shirt of his musicians, who do get a close up shot in the act where it is obvious, and whilst they weren't in the Final anyway, the EBU had no (you'd hope) prior knowledge of that eventuality, it seems an odd thing to ban when an act uses it, or at least they use a very obvious version of it printed on a shirt, rather than the flag itself.

Also it turns out Nemo didn't only break The Code, but also broke the trophy mere moments after it was handed to them by Loreen in their celebrations It later appeared unbroken in the interview afterward, so it was either superglued together, or they have a spare in case exactly this happens.