Junior Eurovision 2024: Stay Tuned will represent The Netherlands in Madrid!

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Today it was The Netherlands’ turn to select their entry for Junior Eurovision 2024. Just a while ago, Junior Songfestival 2024, the Dutch national selection for Junior Eurovision 2024, was concluded. Junior Songfestival served for another year as the country’s selection method for the children’s contest and was broadcasted live from Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Hosted by Stefania (JESC: Netherlands 2016 as a part of “Kisses”, ESC: Greece 2020-2021) and Matheu Hinzen (JESC: Netherlands 2019) and following the combination of votes from a kids jury, a professional jury and public voting, Stay Tuned were crowned as the winners with the song “Music“.

The following four acts competed for the Dutch representation in Madrid:

  • Veronika – “Dreams Are Built to Last“
  • Ruben – “Colors of My Heart“
  • Dunyah, Hidde, Saïda – “In M’n Prime“
  • Stay Tuned (Inkar, Miucha, Niek and Chiara) – “Music“

The voting process

A professional jury along with a kids jury and a public vote decided in equal shares who would fly the Dutch flag in Madrid.

Professional Jury

The professional jury consisted of Roxeanne Hazes, Jim Bakkum and Anne Appelo:

12 points – Veronika

10 points – Stay Tuned

9 points – Ruben

8 points – Dunyah, Hidde, Saïda

Kids Jury

The kids jury consisted of Sep and Jasmijn, last year’s winners, along with the girl group Joy!:

12 points – Stay Tuned

10 points – Veronika

9 points – Dunyah, Hidde, Saïda

8 points – Ruben

Audience’s Votes

12 points – Stay Tuned

10 points – Veronika

9 points – Dunyah, Hidde, Saïda

8 points – Ruben

The winner

Following the combination of the above and with a total of 34 points, Stay Tuned were crowned as the winners of Junior Songfestival 2024 and will therefore serve as the country’s representatives in the 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest that will take place in Madrid in November.

Junior Eurovision 2024

Seventeen countries will take part in the 22nd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest:

  • Albania – RTSH
  • Armenia – AMPTV
  • Cyprus – RIK
  • Estonia – ERR
  • France – FT
  • Georgia – GPB
  • Germany – ARD/NDR
  • Ireland – RTÉ
  • Italy – RAI
  • Malta – PBS
  • North Macedonia – MRT
  • Poland – TVP
  • Portugal – RTP
  • San Marino – RTV San Marino
  • Spain – TVE
  • The Netherlands – AVROTROS
  • Ukraine – UA:PBC

The 22nd edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be held on November 16 in Madrid, Spain, following the country’s second-place finish last year and the refusal of the winning country, France, to host for the second year in a row. The slogan for this year’s contest is “Let’s Bloom!”, while Ruth Lorenzo, Marc Clotet and Melani Garcia will serve as this year’s hosts.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

The First Deadline for Eurovision 2025 Participation Approaches: Which Countries are Still Undecided?

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The first deadline set by the EBU for its member broadcasters to submit their preliminary participation in Eurovision 2025 expires on September 15. Following this, and for the next month until October 11, those who have declared participation can withdraw without a penalty. After this date, any withdrawal will incur a penalty. So far, 28 countries have confirmed their participation in one way or another, while some others have not yet clarified their intentions. Let’s take a detailed look at the countries that participated in Eurovision 2024 and have not yet announced whether they will attend Basel or not.

Ireland, Poland, Estonia, Armenia, Croatia: Likely to Participate

Ireland, Poland, Estonia, Armenia, and Croatia are expected to participate in Eurovision 2025, barring any unexpected events. Although the national broadcasters of these countries have remained silent, the presence of their Heads of Delegation a few days ago in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where the Eurovision Workshop took place under the auspices of the EBU, suggests that they will all compete in Basel next May.

Croatia, which achieved its best-ever result in the contest this year, hosted the Eurovision Workshop, making it highly unlikely for the country to withdraw from the next contest. The same is true, more or less, for Ireland, which achieved its best result in 20 years. Despite the issues caused by Bambie Thug in this year’s competition, the Irish delegation did not publicly express any objections.

Armenia usually announces its plans for Eurovision after the Junior Eurovision ends, so their current stance is not surprising.

The public broadcasters of Poland and Estonia are currently undergoing budget cuts, which is why they have not yet announced anything regarding their participation. However, a withdrawal seems unlikely, especially after the participation of their Heads of Delegation in the Eurovision Workshop in Dubrovnik.

What About the Remaining Countries?

Five other countries that participated in Eurovision 2024 have not revealed their intentions for the next contest. Here are the countries:

  • Netherlands
  • Slovenia
  • Iceland
  • Moldova
  • Australia

The Netherlands announced that, following the dramatic events this year with Joost Klein’s elimination from the final, it would wait to discuss matters with the EBU regarding backstage issues. This discussion has begun, and the Dutch broadcaster has received an extension until November 1 to confirm or decline their participation. The atmosphere seems positive between the two parties, and we hope that these discussions will have a happy ending, with the Netherlands participating in Basel.

Slovenia has announced that its public broadcaster will decide in October whether to participate in Eurovision 2025. This aligns with the EBU’s deadline for public broadcasters to withdraw from the contest without penalty, which is October 11. Slovenia’s broadcaster sent several queries to the EBU immediately after the end of this year’s contest, which included questions about the televote.

Iceland was expected to announce its decision regarding Eurovision 2025 in the past few days but postponed it until next week, after the preliminary participation deadline of September 15 has passed.

Moldova is another country that typically delays announcing its plans. However, barring any surprises, Moldova is expected to be present in Basel.

Australia, as always, is a special case. Its contract with the EBU has expired, and each year it requires a special invitation to SBS for the “land of kangaroos” to participate.

Is There a Chance for Another Return?

Luxembourg’s return this year and Montenegro’s announcement of their return for Eurovision 2025 have brought joy and hope to fans for the return of other countries that mainly abstain for economic reasons.

The only countries in this category that have not ruled out a potential return are Romania, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia. All three have participated in the contest until recently but withdrew due to financial constraints. None of these countries have publicly ruled out returning for Eurovision 2025, leaving room to hope for at least one more return in the next contest, apart from Montenegro.

How many countries do you think will participate in Eurovision 2025? Let us know in the comments below!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest updates!

Dutch public broadcaster granted extension by EBU to decide on Eurovision 2025 Participation

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The Dutch public broadcaster, AVROTROS, has been granted an extension by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to decide whether it will participate in the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place next May in Basel, Switzerland.

This announcement followed the first meeting between the EBU and AVROTROS, which was requested by the Dutch side to discuss what happened behind the scenes at the contest in Malmö. Among other issues, these events led to the exclusion of the Dutch representative from the final for non-competition-related reasons.

As a result, the Netherlands will not have until September 15th, like other countries, to confirm its participation in the EBU, but will have until November 1st. This timeframe is considered reasonable to allow the dialogue between the EBU and AVROTROS to be completed and any misunderstandings to be resolved.

Cornald Maas, the commentator for AVROTROS at the contest, expressed his support for Dutch participation, stating that he believes the most appropriate response to this year’s events would be a strong entry in Switzerland rather than an absence.

“I believe the best response is to participate and have a good entry. It’s a better answer than staying home, complaining, preaching, and amplifying your own annoyance for another year,” Maas said.

Meanwhile, 29 countries have already confirmed their participation in Eurovision 2025 in one way or another, and the remaining question marks can now be counted on the fingers of two hands.

How many countries will ultimately participate in Eurovision 2025?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Netherlands: AVROTROS’ commentator believes that the country should compete in Eurovision 2025

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The Dutch entry’s disqualification from the Eurovision final in May of last year, along with the events that unfolded around it, cast doubt on the country’s participation in the upcoming competition. Specifically, the Netherlands‘ public broadcaster officials have stated unequivocally that the country’s participation in Basel requires the adoption of a number of modifications that will deal with the “dysfunctions” of the competition. However in contrast to those remarks, Dutch commentator Cornald Maas declared that he wants the Netherlands to take part in the 2025 competition.

In particular, Cornald Mass, who criticised the European Broadcasting Union and its decisions following Joost Klein’s disqualification and made statements such as “F*ck the EBU”, argued that the Netherlands ought to compete in Eurovision 2025.

“I think the best answer is to participate and to cater for a good entry. That’s a better answer than staying at home, sulking, preaching to the choir, adding to your own annoyance for another year while the caravan moves on.

“I think that you should always take part, because Eurovision isn’t the European Broadcasting Union. That’s what I’m critical about, not about Eurovision itself.”

Should Netherlands participate in Eurovision 2025? Let us know your opinion in the comment section below.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest!

Source: Gids.tv

The Netherlands: The majority believes that the country should not participate in Eurovision 2025!

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The thriller of whether the Netherlands will be present at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland goes on, and will probably last until the very last moment, on September 15, the deadline for the countries concerned to register to participate.

The country’s national broadcaster, AVROTROS, has more than a week to decide. However, the Dutch branch of RTL conducted a poll and if the decision to participate or not was in the hands of the public, then the country would be out, as 58% think it should stay away next year.

After the controversial disqualification of the Netherlands despite qualifying for the final, the decision seems to be difficult.

Eric Dekker from AVROTROS commented that:

“At the moment, the talks are still ongoing. We’re taking everything into consideration and we’re not making any statements until a decision is made.”

According to the results of the RTL survey, 58% believe that the country should abstain, 24% believe that it should participate and 18% have no opinion on the matter.

Katja Zwar, eurofan and podcast presenter at Telegraaf, also chooses the abstention.

“As much as it hurts me to say, I hope we won’t participate just to make a statement. It’s not nothing what happened, we were unjustly disqualified, while we had scored high. You can’t undo it, but the EBU has to come up with something right to make up for it.”

On the other hand, media expert Mark Koster believes that the country will eventually take part.

“I’m sure there will be a half-baked lame excuse from the EBU just in time, which is just enough for the AVROTROS to participate anyway. And then the whole riot will have been for nothing.”

In the event that the Netherlands takes part, 47% believe that Joost Klein should be the representative again.

Source: RTL

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

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Netherlands: Joost Klein had a previous confrontation with the camerawoman

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The camerawoman to whom Joost Klein made a threatening gesture is said to have had an earlier altercation with the Dutch representative during the week of the Eurovision Song Contest. This is reported by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet based on the reports of the police interrogations of Klein and the woman, after the incident that cost Joost Klein his place in the Eurovision 2024 final. Aftonbladet published parts of the police reports and thus more details are revealed.

The previous incident reported by the woman allegedly took place when Klein was returning backstage. The singer had asked the woman to stop filming, which she did not do “because she had signed a document agreeing to the filming. I was just doing my job,” he said. According to the woman, the Dutch team apologized after this incident and promised that Klein “wouldn’t react this way again” during the festival.

When Klein made a threatening gesture towards her during the second incident, the woman did not react at first “because I thought Joost was joking”. Klein “became angrier. I felt scared and vulnerable,” the woman reportedly said during her first police interview the night before the final of the Song Contest.

The police informed the singer that the woman was demanding compensation of 7,000 kroner, over 600 euros. According to Aftonbladet, Klein told police interrogations that he had “vague memories of the event”. The singer in that questioning claimed that he made the threatening gesture towards the woman’s camera and not towards the woman herself. According to Aftonbladet, Klein also said at the first interrogation that he was innocent of the crime he was suspected of. “I don’t recognize myself in the incident,” Klein reportedly said.

Aftonbladet did not publish the full police report. Many passages have been blacked out.

AVROTROS and his manager Klein say the singer was “really harassed many times” during the Eurovision Song Contest, but would not comment on whether the Dutch team apologized to the woman after the first incident. The cameraman’s lawyer did not respond to the report.

The Swedish prosecutor’s office dropped the case against Klein in early August because there was not enough evidence to prove that Klein made his “threatening act” with the intention of causing “serious fear” to the camerawoman.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source:nltimes

Netherlands: In spite of recent communication between AVROTROS and the EBU, participation in Eurovision 2025 is still up in the air

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In a recent article on Basel’s selection as the host city for Eurovision 2025, Dutch public television asserts that the country’s participation in the competition is still up in the air, while confirming that during the previous two weeks, discussions regarding all matters of mutual concern have been held with the EBU.

The Netherlands was disqualified from the competition this year as a result of a complaint that a production worker had filed. When she attempted to take a picture of him, Joost Klein allegedly threatened her, based on what was reported by the media. In the end, the Swedish prosecutor decided to archive the case because of uncertainties and insufficient evidence.

Since then, Dutch public television has not confirmed its participation in the next contest, citing matters that require discussion with the EBU. Although it appears that the discussion has taken place, Dutch public television has not yet stated whether or not it participate in Basel in May of the following year.

The Netherlands’ participation in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest is still up in the air. Artists are usually required to submit their entries to AVROTROS, the broadcaster in charge of the Netherlands’ entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, before the end of July. Nevertheless, because Joost Klein was disqualified from the previous edition, the submissions are still closed this year.

Following the events of this years Eurovision Song Contest, AVROTROS wishes to alter a number of the competition’s rules. In this regard, the broadcaster previously submitted a letter to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the Eurovision Song Contest. AVROTROS and the EBU have talked as well in the past two weeks, but the Dutch broadcaster will not yet be in a position to provide a firm response on their participation in the event next year.

If the Netherlands does not participate next year, it will be only the fifth time in the 68-year history of the contest.

Dutch Public Television

By 15 September, public broadcasters  have a deadline to confirm their membership to the EBU. After then, they  have a window of time during which they can cancel their participation without incurring any fees. Subsequently, the list of participating countries is announced by the EBU, and withdrawals are now subject to a nominal punishment.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the Eurovision 2025 developments!

Source: NOS

Joost Klein: “There is no time to deal with filing a lawsuit against the EBU”

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Joost Klein does not intend to take legal action against the EBU, despite initial information to the contrary, the artist’s manager announced. There is no time and space to deal with something like this, was the relevant announcement of the representative of the Dutch artist.

Joost Klein immediately after the Swedish prosecutor’s office dropped his criminal prosecution, due to doubts and insufficient evidence, he had stated through his lawyer that he was considering filing a lawsuit against the EBU.

Joost is the right person to file a police report. Joost’s manager called me and we will think about it.

Gerard Spong, lawyer of Joost Klein

This statement came immediately after the publication of the decision of the Dutch public television – AVROTROS, not to pursue the case in court, but to resolve any pending issues with the EBU through dialogue.

Today, the artist’s manager states that he will not take any other legal action himself, since he has neither the time nor the space to deal with such a thing.

I sent Gerard Spong a quick email thanking him for his interesting take, but to be quite honest, we don’t really have the time or space to work on it right now.

Rick Bakker, manager of Joost Klein

AVROTROS has stated that it will soon meet with the EBU to discuss everything that happened behind the scenes of this year’s competition. So far it has not been clarified whether the country will participate in Eurovision 2025.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: rtl

The Netherlands: Joost Klein is thinking of suing the EBU!

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Joost Klein is considering filing a defamation lawsuit against Eurovision organizer the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The singer’s manager has already contacted the lawyer Gerard Spong.

The news comes a day after AvroTros had indicated that it did not want to press charges.  The lawyer wrote that it is “absolutely a defamatory allegation” that the EBU, despite the fact that according to the Swedish Public Prosecutor’s Office there is no or insufficient evidence, continues to insist that Joost Klein “would have committed an act worthy of disqualification”.

The fact that AvroTros doesn’t want to create an issue is a sign of weakness according to Spong.

“They must have their reasons for it. They may also have to continue with the EBU next year, so maybe they think: we shouldn’t have any. I think it’s weak.”

“Joost is the right person to file a police report. I’ve been called by Joost’s manager and we’re going to think about it.”

Source: De Telegraaf

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Netherlands: AVROTROS has decided not to pursue legal action in response to Joost Klein’s disqualification

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Following the dismissal of the accusations against Joost Klein, the Dutch representative for this year’s Eurovision, there has been a backlash in the country, with calls mounting to take the EBU to court. In this context, lawyer Gerard Spong argued that AVROTROS – the country’s public broadcaster – should file a defamation complaint against the EBU. However, AVROTROS does not plan to take such action, according to formal statements made by broadcaster executives to the ANP news agency.

The Dutch entry was disqualified from this year’s competition just hours before the grand final. According to the EBU the Dutch representative used abusive language against a member of the contest production crew.

More specifically, the Dutch broadcaster states that its purpose is not to obtain financial compensation but to contribute to improving the conduct of the competition.

We can’t undo what’s been done. Nor are we seeking to get richer through it. We want to make things better not only for the Netherlands but also for other countries.

At the same time, the representatives of AVROTROS mentioned, once again, that the country’s participation in the upcoming competition depends on the future decisions of the EBU on this issue. They stressed, however, that the broadcaster’s intention is to compete in Switzerland next May.

We’ve been clear from the beginning that things really have to change for us to be there next year. It depends on future EBU decisions.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding our favourite music competition!

Source: RTL