ANP/Editorial
Yesterday at 11:15 PM
Malmö
Joost Klein has advanced to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The singer reached the top ten of the second semi-final on Thursday evening with the song Europapa. He will be fifth in the final on Saturday.
Klein gave an almost flawless performance of his entry Europapa. Just like during the rehearsals, his song was a huge hit with the audience in the hall.
The singer again relied heavily on the backing tape in terms of singing, but the roof still came off in Malmö. The singer gave all his energy and received it back in abundance from those present. The lyrics were sung along loudly and it earned him a big applause in the audience.
In the outro, in which Klein has an emotional message for his deceased father, he kept it dry.
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There was also an enthusiastic response to Klein’s performance in the press center. There was a lot of dancing among the fan media during the break during which the meatloaf was being chopped.
Israel has also qualified for the final, despite the fuss about its participation. The other countries that qualified for the final on Thursday evening are: Greece, Estonia, Georgia and Armenia. After the first semi-final on Tuesday, Croatia, Ukraine, Ireland, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus and Luxembourg advanced.
Finale
The final is Saturday. Host country Sweden and the so-called Big Five (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) were already assured of a place in the final.
Klein is fifth in the final. The Dutch entry must come after openers Sweden, Ukraine, Germany and Luxembourg and right before the entry from Israel, according to the running order released on Thursday night.
Favorites Switzerland, Croatia and France are in the final stages of the final. The Swiss Nemo will be 21st, while Baby Lasagna from Croatia will be 23rd. Frenchman Slimane is penultimate and Austria closes the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday.
