Eurovision mix-up man 'wanted to protect Kaarija illusion'

The man who was mistaken for Eurovision star Kaarija by a BBC reporter has said he played along because he did not want to "negate the illusion".

Beto Popocatepetl was dressed as the Finnish rapper when he was stopped by BBC North West Tonight's Katie Walderman outside the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday.

After she caught up with him again, he said he did tell people he was not Kaarija, but they replied: "Sure, just take a picture, give me an autograph."

The reporter also spoke to real 2023 Finnish entrant Kaarija, who said he was "happy people do the crazy Kaarija things".

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