The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) starts the final day of the summit with a minute of silence for the Dutch delegation, following the devastating news of the country’s disqualification from the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) the previous night.
European representatives trickled in slowly this morning, starting the conference 10 minutes late, after what one can only assume must have been a night of intense drama and stress for the high-ranking lawmakers. Dutch ESC candidate Joost Klein had been disqualified for reasons which many consider disproportional, inspiring the Spanish delegate to ask for a minute of silence for all Dutch people without representation at the mega live music event, and for the whole of Europe robbed of a catchy performance of ‘Europapa’.
Reuters reports similar events at a NATO summit this morning.
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