Dana fails to turn up for rehearsals for Eurovision winners gala
RTE’s botched apology for concert snub appears to fall on deaf ears
RTÉ’S ‘apology’ to Dana appears to have fallen on deaf ears after the singer did not show up at rehearsals for the upcoming Concert Orchestra Eurovision celebratory special.
With rehearsals now at an advanced stage for the event, which takes place on October 13, it seems likely it will be going ahead without Ireland’s first ever Eurovision winner.
A source told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Dana still hasn’t turned up to rehearsals or given any overtures that she will be appearing at the concert.
‘There has been radio silence. It’s a real shame as she will miss out on what’s shaping up to be a fantastic show.
‘The concert is on in two weeks so at this stage it is looking unlikely. But then again who knows?’
Earlier this month the MoS revealed how RTÉ issued an apology to Eurovision star Dana after the 1970 winner was excluded from the line-up in a televised concert celebrating the contest.
But in a bizarre twist the national broadcaster’s mea culpa was issued in a press release that was not released to media, but instead just published in the ‘About’ section on RTÉ’s own website.
The apology appeared three days after the MoS revealed 71-year-old Dana was ‘extremely hurt’ at being omitted from the Eurovision event line-up and was seeking a public apology.
RTÉ’s statement said: ‘RTÉ has always intended to include Dana in this concert to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest and our winning singers and composers and we apologise to her for any embarrassment caused.’
The State broadcaster also claimed it had made ‘a number of attempts to speak directly to Dana’, adding it would be a ‘privilege’ if Dana took part in the event.
However, the apology does not appear to have satisfied the singer, who was understood to be extremely upset at her initial omission from the celebration of Ireland’s Eurovision successes.
And so far she has not turned up to rehearsals with Ireland’s six other Eurovision winners - Johnny Logan, Linda Martin, Niamh Kavanagh, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan and Eimear Quinn for the musical extravaganza at the National Concert Hall which will be presented by Marty Whelan.
Controversy erupted when RTÉ invited all of the other Eurovision winners to perform at the event. It even released a promotional ad announcing the concert with the names of past winners listed in lights.
But there was one glaring omission - the woman who became Ireland’s first ever Eurovision winner with All Kinds of Everything, which became a global hit.
At the start of the row a representative from RTÉ contacted the singer in a bid to quell the storm.
However, sources close to Dana, a former MEP, said the situation deteriorated when the representative told her that ‘her politics had nothing to do with not being invited’.
‘The very fact that her politics was even raised now leads people to think that it was because of her beliefs,’ a source added.
‘It’s a real shame as she’ll miss out on fantastic show’