The Dutch broadcaster had used various methods to select its entry in the past, such as the Nationaal Songfestival, a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision.

[10][14][15] Klein was announced on 11 December as the selected entrant,[16] with his song "Europapa", written jointly with rapper Donnie, released on 29 February 2024[17][18][19] upon its premiere during a special live broadcast of De Avondshow met Arjen Lubach on NPO 1.

[21] Additional songwriters were revealed upon the song's release: Dylan van Dael, Paul Elstak, Teun de Kruif, Thijmen Melissant, and Tim Haars.

[32] In addition, as part of the Eurovision programming, Dutch broadcaster NTR cooperated with DR and SVT alongside other EBU member broadcasters – namely ARD/WDR, the BBC, ČT, ERR, France Télévisions, NRK, RÚV, VRT and Yle – to produce and air a documentary titled ABBA – Against the Odds, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Sweden's first victory at the contest with "Waterloo" by ABBA.

[33] A public event was held on the day of the final at the Oldehoofsterkerkhof in Joost Klein's birth city of Leeuwarden, featuring a live screening of the show.

[34] Organisers obtained permission from AVROTROS to have the Oldehove Tower as the venue for the planned live announcement of the Dutch jury points, traditionally given from the broadcaster's studios in Hilversum.

[45] AVROTROS and NPO held discussions with the EBU,[46] after which it was announced that Klein had been disqualified from the final and investigated by the police for allegedly making a "threatening movement" towards a female employee of the production team, who was holding a camera after he had repeatedly indicated his desire not to be filmed "against clearly made agreements".

The broadcaster also opted not to present the points of the Dutch jury on air, as it is no longer part of the final:[48] An incident occurred after last Thursday's performance.

We stand for good manners – let there be no misunderstanding about that – but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.We are very disappointed and upset for the millions of fans who were so excited for tonight.

What Joost brought to the Netherlands and Europe shouldn't have ended this way.Now that AVROTROS is no longer part of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest, we do not feel the need to hand out the points of the Dutch jury.

Just like Nikkie, we imagined this evening very differently.In response to the disqualification, Appie Mussa [nl], part of the Dutch stage act, released a TikTok video that criticised the EBU's decision.

[49] Cornald Maas, AVROTROS' television commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest and member of its Dutch selection committee, called the punishment "cruel and unusual" and later added, "fuck the EBU".

[50] Ivan Simonović, a member of Serbia's delegation, called the disqualification "unfair", while RTVSLO, Slovenia's broadcaster, requested clarifications from the EBU.

[53] The investigation was closed on 12 August, with the senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson citing a lack of evidence to prove that Klein "was capable of causing serious fear or that [he] had any such intention".

[54][55] AVROTROS subsequently requested a meeting on "very short notice" with the EBU to discuss the disqualification, and stated that its participation in the 2025 contest would depend on "structural adjustments" to the organisation of the event.

[57] The Dutch jury consisted of Sera de Bruin, Rob Ester, Glen Faria, Shayveca Kreuger, and Raymond van Vliet.