A man has been questioned by police over allegations of threats at the Eurovision Song Contest.
It is still not known if Netherlands’ act Joost Klein will perform in the Grand Final on Saturday, having missed two scheduled dress rehearsals on Friday while an investigation into an incident was carried out.
The 26-year-old rapper and singer qualified in the semi-final on Thursday with his up-tempo song Europapa, a tribute to his late parents.
Swedish news outlets have reported that he is being investigated after an incident involving a television production worker.
A spokeswoman for the Swedish Police Authority said in a statement: “A man is suspected of unlawful threats. The crime is said to have been committed at Malmö Arena on Thursday evening.
“The man is questioned by the police but not detained. The plaintiff is an employee at Eurovision.
“The police have taken all essential investigative measures and questioned the suspect, plaintiff and witnesses. The investigation has been completed by the police.
“The case follows the normal legal process. The police have used faster prosecution and the case will now go to the prosecutor within a few weeks.”
Police confirmed the plaintiff is not a Eurovision act.
The grand final marks the end of this year’s Eurovision which has been mired in controversy.
On Friday, a statement from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said: “The investigation into the incident with the Dutch artist in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is still ongoing.
“Discussions are also taking place between the EBU and Avrotros, the Dutch participating broadcaster.
“While the investigation continues, the EBU has decided that Joost Klein will not perform during dress rehearsal two of the competition, which is voted on by juries in the 37 participating countries.
“His performance from semi-final two will be used instead.”
The televised final at the Malmö Arena in Sweden will see acts from the big five countries – the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy – joined by reigning champions Sweden and 20 qualifying countries to perform in a bid to win the title.
Among the other acts who qualified during the semi-finals was Israeli contestant Eden Golan, whose participation amid the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza has been a point of debate.
Her emotional song Hurricane was reworked from a previous track called October Rain, which was thought to reference the Hamas attacks on Israel that sparked the conflict.
More protests are planned for Saturday at the central square Stortorget, and pro-Palestinian demonstrators will walk across the city to Molleplasten.
Marty Whelan will host coverage of the event live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm, while Zbyszek Zalinski and Neil Doherty will lead commentary on RTÉ 2FM.
