They’ll be Bamazing
Ireland’s Eurovision chief says Bambie Thug will stand out in semi-final
EUROVISION director Michael Kealy has said Bambie Thug will “stand out” from the crowds at this year’s song contest.
Ireland’s entry is set to compete against 14 nations in the first Semi Final in Sweden on May 7 with their song, Doomsday Blue.
The gothic non-binary Cork artist has been championed as coming from “the strongest national final in 50 years” and is already favourite among Eurovision fans.
RTE’S Head of Delegation Mr Kealy reckons
Bambie is unique.
He told us: “I think Bambie is the sort of artist who will stand out no matter where they are placed in the show.”
The semi-final line-ups were determined by drawing countries from six pots to see who would face whom in which semi-final and which half of that show they would compete in. Competing against Ireland in the first semi-final are Austria, Malta, Switzerland, Greece, Czechia, Albania, Denmark, Armenia, Cyprus, Poland, Serbia, Lithuania and Croatia.
Ireland will perform in the first half of the show which kicks off at 9pm.
The second semi-final will take place on May 9 and will see Slovenia, Iceland, Finland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Australia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Israel, Estonia, Georgia, Netherlands, Norway, Latvia, San Marino and Belgium.
The Big Five – UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and France – go straight into the final alongside hosts Sweden in Malmo on May 11.
Speaking to Ray D’arcy on RTE Radio 1 on Monday, Bambie said they weren’t expecting the country to get behind them the way it did.
They added: “It was crazy. I definitely was having a bit of a dissociative moment, an out-of-body
I think they will stand out no matter where they are in show MICHAEL KEALY YESTERDAY
experience for the whole thing, to be honest. But there was just so much love in the room. There was so much support.
“I had my mom and my sister and my two best friends from when I did university here, before going to London.
“I felt so held and it was beautiful. I’m so grateful.”
The semi-final Draw took place in Malmo on Tuesday alongside a ceremony during which previous hosts Liverpool passed the Host City insignia to Sweden.