Eurovision turmoil: The Netherlands ousted, nations mull exit

Today at the Malmö Arena, the atmosphere is charged with the final buzz of activity before Saturday's finale. The absence of the Netherlands' representative is already the talk of the town. Bambie Thug, a non-binary favourite, was notably absent during the dress rehearsal for the Parade of Flags.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) made a controversial decision that shocked many. At noon (Greenwich Time) today, they announced the sudden disqualification of Joost Klein from the Netherlands, excluding him from the list of Eurovision finalists.

This decision has stirred up considerable unease among several international delegations. Estonia's team, for instance, is contemplating a complete withdrawal from the contest. Additionally, the representatives of three other countries have voiced their opposition to excluding "Europapa's" performer. Representatives from Ireland, Switzerland, and Greece were absent from the costume rehearsal for the annual Parade of Flags.

Bambie Thug, a front-runner in this year’s contest, heightened fan disappointment by not participating in the ceremonial parade, which Ireland also skipped.

After my first dress rehearsal I was asked to remove both free palestine and ceasefire in ogham from my outfit. My delegation and I fought against this and the EBU eventually agreed to letting ceasefire remain. About an hour before my call time I was informed that they had an internal meeting and ceasefire was no longer acceptable, and if I didn’t remove this I would not be allowed on stage.—Bambie Thug conveyed in a statement on Instagram.

The representative for Ireland stressed that their absence aimed to highlight an issue that the European Broadcasting Union seems to overlook or deliberately ignore.