The Eurovision Broadcasting Union (EBU) has reportedly cancelled Olly Alexander’s media conference ahead of the final. The Years & Years singer was due to speak to the media ahead of The Eurovision Grand Final on Saturday evening.
The 33-year-old singer has been chosen to represent the United Kingdom at the contest in Malmo, Sweden. The news comes after the Dutch act Joost Klein was barred from rehearsals by contest officials.
The Netherlands entry, who made it through to Saturday’s final, did not appear at his scheduled rehearsal slot and it has since been shared that an “incident” is being “investigated”.
The EBU stated: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.”
According to The Mirror, an email from Eurovision organisers read: “Please note that the big five and Sweden media conference originally scheduled for 18.30 (5.30pm BST) has been cancelled because all artists want to focus on rehearsals.”
Dutch broadcaster Avrotros and Swedish channel SVT, responsible for the contest’s organisation, have yet to respond to requests for comments.
Alongside the UK, the countries Italy, Spain, Germany and France are also in the big five and automatically qualify for the Grand Final.
The annual event has been shrouded in controversy as Israel has been the target of Eurovision boycott calls, amidst its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Israeli contestant Eden Golan made it through the semi-finals on Thursday evening.
Previously, Olly Alexander has joked that he “probably won’t win” the Eurovision Song Contest. Speaking to The Times, he said: “I’m probably not going to win.”
Speaking about signing up for Eurovision, he shared: “It’s fun. The drama. But also I’m ten years into my music career and I haven’t had a big hit for a while. I’m not Dua Lipa — I’m not streaming crazy amounts — and this is a route to lots of people hearing your song.”
The singer has also addressed the controversy surrounding his upcoming performance. Olly has come under intense pressure to quit the competition after a group of queer artists asked him to withdraw in protest over Israel’s involvement.
The BBC and a representative of Olly were previously contacted for comment by Express.co.uk.
The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final takes place at 8pm on Saturday 11 May on BBC One.
