As expected, Joost Klein has qualified for the finals of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday with an enthusiastic rendering of Europapa.

Klein will perform in fifth place in Saturday’s final in Malmo.

Klein’s song, described by Dutch media as “three minutes of pure joy” had the Eurovision crowd dancing on their feet during Thursday’s show. He was selected from more than 600 entries to represent the Netherlands and the number was described by the selection committee as “a hit that can take over Europe”. 

The Netherlands last won Eurovision in 2019 when Duncan Laurence sang a haunting power ballad called Arcade.

A slip-up by the Italian judging team showed they had put Klein in second place behind Israel in the semi-final. The semi-final results are kept secret until after the main event.