Dear r/eurovision community,
The last few days have been very difficult days for the Eurovision community, and it’s obviously affecting the subreddit too. We understand everybody’s distress and emotional state at the current moment, and we want to enable you to express this here as well. However, it is also important to not continue speculating and spreading misinformation in an ever-changing situation we don't know much about. We will be deleting comments that do so.
The reason for creating this megathread is to allow people a general discussion space for the past couple days' turbulent events, where reliable information is kept in one place. As stated above (it bears repeating), please do not spread misinformation, rumours and other uncorroborated claims - this is harmful and damages everybody's ability to follow what is actually happening. Random unsourced tweets are not an acceptable source. Additionally, please refrain from turning unrelated threads outside of this one into live threads or megathreads with a minute by minute update on the latest gossip, rumours, or speculation. Attempts to do either of the above will result in a 1-2 week ban; we simply can't keep up with the sheer volume of comments at this time.
We will be following along with your latest comments and attaching them to the body of this post as updates (provided they have a relevant source, of course). It will unfortunately stay in contest mode for the time being to try and limit the dogpiling we've been experiencing on earlier megathreads.
We understand this is an imperfect solution and apologise for the chaos. But we do want to try and keep any further updates to this ongoing situation in one place to stem the tide of rumour-mongering and misinformation. Thank you for your help and understanding.
All the best,
The r/eurovision Mod Team
UPDATE 6 @ 18.40: Well, after receiving death threats, harassment, and multiple Reddit Cares messages, contest mode is now off. Go wild, I guess.
Please report any misinformation or rule-breaking comments you see using the appropriate button. It helps us out, especially when things are moving so fast when a megathread is being used as a live chat waiting room rather than its intended purpose. The policy stated above (now in bold) about attempts to share updates outside this megathread being met with bans will be strictly enforced to ensure those who want to watch the show are allowed to do so. If you don't want to watch at this point, that's completely fine. But please respect the opinion of those who feel differently.
UPDATE 5 @ 18.10: Still no new news, but I'll take this moment to address the contest mode. The main issue we ran into with the previous megathreads was 1) people derailing the conversation to completely unrelated things, 2) trolls, and 3) rumours and speculation being posted and immediately treated as fact. We know contest mode is annoying and we're sorry for that, but after a double digit number of hours spent attempting to stem the tide of misinformation and speculation on our end, this was the best solution we could come up with at present to damp down on those issues. Contest mode will be dropped as soon as we know people will be civil to each other and we don't need to keep such a close eye on the megathread. Thank you for your patience!
In the meantime, on the mod end of things, we can still sort by new, so we are keeping up with all your latest updates and comments as best we can! I will add more verified updates here as and when they drop.
UPDATE 4 @ 17.43: AVROTROS's official website has shared the same statement as on Twitter and Instagram, with an additional message about their disappointment that things ended up this way. That statement can be found [here](https://www.avrotros.nl/article/nederland-gediskwalificeerd-van-eurovisie-songfestival/). Thanks again, Anve94!
UPDATE 3 @ 17.38: AVROTROS's official Twitter page has released [a statement](https://twitter.com/songfestival/status/1789317066039726298 ) about the incident. It is of course one side of the story, but it does seem to confirm some earlier rumoured details as to why Joost was suspended.
UPDATE 2 @ 17.33: Taco Zimmerman, General Manager of the broadcasting agency AVROTROS, will give an explanation/update to the press. This corroborates the earlier information from AD. (Source)[https://www.nu.nl/songfestival/6312454/live-songfestival-steunbetuiging-aan-joost-crisisoverleg-bij-ebu.html\]. Thank you, Anve94!
UPDATE 1 @ 17.30: AD, a Dutch tabloid, is reporting that there will be a press conference about Joost's disqualification in 15 minutes (thank you, ComprehensiveBuy4846!)