Ireland: RTÉ unable to host Eurovision in the future?

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The ability of the Irish public broadcaster RTE to organize televised events of great significance will be greatly affected by the changes currently made. Therefore, in the event that Ireland wins the competition again, a potential Eurovision hosting will be in danger.

Significant changes in RTÉ

RTE’s CEO revealed new plans that include selling off a significant portion of the Irish public broadcaster’s real estate and mobile assets in addition to shifting some of its programming to outside producers. RTE will no longer be able to cover significant events on their own, like Queen Elizabeth’s passing or the Pope’s visit to Ireland, according to a source associated with the organization.

Many RTE staff members are concerned about the widespread privatization of public television, as there is no similar case nowhere in Europe. RTE leaving EBU is not a likely scenario, according to the EBU, but it does state that the network’s “ability or inability” to host important events like Eurovision might be experienced in the future.

Moreover, plans also call for hiring outside producers to run well-known programs like “The Late Late Show“. Considering that “The Late Late Show” serves as the national selection format for Eurovision, it is currently unclear how the representatives of Ireland will be chosen in the future.

RTE’s response

When questioned about the issue, a representative for RTÉ stated that significant events like the Eurovision Song Contest “would always be produced through a combination of RTÉ staff and suitably qualified people working in the freelance community“. The spokesperson stated that:

This model is a standard practice across the industry and applies to all public service broadcasters where there is an in-house staff base.

Given that Ireland has not won the Eurovision since 1996, or hosted it since 1997 – 27 years ago – any future hosting would represent a special event which would require a core RTÉ team plus additional freelance resources.

This year, Bambie Thug represented Ireland in Malmö with their song “Doomsday Blue“, finishing sixth and bringing Ireland back to the top ten after thirteen years.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: evoke

Eurovision 2024: Watch the video that “blew up” the flag parade in the last rehearsal

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One of the events that marked Eurovision 2024 was the non-participation of the artists from Greece, Ireland and Switzerland in the flag parade of the last general rehearsal for the final. In fact, Bambie Thug from Ireland did not appear even afterwards, when they had to perform their entry. A video has been released on X, showing what really happened seconds before the tension started behind the scenes.

As it was later said by the artists who decided to protest in this way, it was because members of the Israeli delegation were filming them against their will. In the video uploaded to various X accounts, Eden Golan can be seen standing alone in line for the flag parade to begin, and a few meters away, Marina Satti, Bambie Thug, Nemo, iolanda and Gåte they talk to each other.

Shortly thereafter Bambie Thug started yelling and crying. As for what the video actually shows, we were informed by a member of the Greek mission who was present at the event and had told us that it was essentially something of no importance, since in this area it was not possible to have any requirement for no video recording, since the artists they were waiting next to each other to go on stage for the flag parade and many were filming or making live on their social media.

This was apparently also the reason why the EBU, in its report on what went wrong at Eurovision 2025, did not mention anything about the specific incident, considering Bambie Thug’s complaints to be at least exaggerated.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

 

What happened at the dress rehearsal before the flag parade and almost blew up the contest!

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About the incident that happened shortly before the flag parade of the last general rehearsal and resulted in Marina Satti, Nemo and Bambie Thug not appearing in it, the head of the Israeli delegation spoke, naturally giving his own version of the events . But for the first time we have a public position on the incident in question, even from one side of those involved.

According to Yoav Tsafir, head of the Israeli delegation to Eurovision 2024, the incident in question happened shortly before the start of the flag parade, at the midday general rehearsal of the final. While all the artists were backstage waiting to come out for the flag parade the following happened:

The singers are standing in line before the parade of flags, Eden was also standing there, next to her was her stylist, preparing her for the performance – and right next to her was the Greek representative, crying: “The Israelis are harassing me, these bastards are writing horrible things about me on social media for what I did (yawn)” and everyone comforted her. For a moment the stylist looked at her and smiled, then Marina Satti raised her middle finger to him. The stylist kept smiling, took out a camera and took a picture of her. Then Bambie Thug lost it and started screaming loudly at the Israeli delegation: “We want peace and you’re bothering us”!

We remind you that subsequently the artists from Greece, Ireland and Switzerland did not appear in the flag parade, while Bambie Thug from Ireland did not sing at all, instead broadcasting a video of her performance in the semi-final.

As we point out at the beginning of the article, this is the first public statement about what happened in the disputed incident. Of course, we will await the placement of the other side with interest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates!

Source: Switzerland Calling

Eurovision 2024: Six countries wanted to withdraw 25 minutes before the Grand Final!

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Two weeks after the Grand Final of Eurovision 2024, it became known from the Norwegian newspaper VG that six countries participating in the Saturday’s show wanted to withdraw up to twenty-five minutes before the start of the final.

The 11th of May was crucial for the contest, as reported by the newspaper, the EBU and SVT found themselves in a major critical meeting as six countries wanted to withdraw until they decided to participate.

The six countries that wanted to withdraw were the winning Switzerland, Ireland, Portugal, Norway, Greece and the United Kingdom.

Specifically, Magnus Børmark, a member of the Norwegian band Gåte, stated that:

We were considering withdrawing until the last moment. Many of us reacted to the fact that Israel had the opportunity to use Eurovision as its own political tool.

The reason the six countries wanted to withdraw was the participation of Israel and the exclusion of Joost Klein. VG writes that Israel’s participation, the extensive security measures, and the behavior of the Israeli delegation during the week were reasons for the protests,” adds Børmark:

Our common point was that we did not want to participate in Eurovision to be used and stigmatized in a war propaganda machine in Israel. We participated to create a space where we can unite in music – in a political situation where everyone chooses sides and hates each other.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: VG

Bets: The latest odds before the Grand Final!

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The 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which has been marred by drama like no other, will conclude in a few hours from now, culminating in the elimination of the Netherlands from the Grand Final this morning.

Amidst an atmosphere of tension and unprecedented toxicity, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest, as well as their chances of being in the Top 10.

Croatia in pole position

With Croatia as the early favourites, the Eurovision 2024 final will take place this evening. The country that has been in first place more than any other has the best chance of winning just hours before the curtain falls on this year’s contest. The supersonic Baby Lasagna is very close to giving Croatia their first win as an independent nation in their Eurovision appearance. Right now, you can place bets on the Croats’ maiden victory at odds between 1.83 and 2.25.

Second is Israel, which is right on Croatia’s heels and sees its odds of victory remain largely unchanged from our analysis yesterday. Thus, Israel’s Eurovision 2024 win is being played at odds between 2.8 and 4.

In third place, gaining ground after last night’s performance, are Nemo and Switzerland. Switzerland and Nemo‘s victory is now being bet at odds between 4.5 and 5.5, up from 6 to 9 at the time of writing our analysis yesterday.

Up two places for Ireland and down one for France, who complete the top five. The possibility of Ireland winning is now offered between 17 and 23. On the other hand, France‘s odds of victory have risen compared to yesterday, now offered between 15 and 26.

Ukraine has dropped to sixth place, having lost three places in the last two days. With the odds on offer having risen significantly, currently as much as 34 times the stake is returned on a Ukrainian victory in Malmo.

In seventh place is Italy, who lost even more ground after last night’s performance at Jury Rehearsal. Between 21 and 51 is being played on the possibility of Angelina Mango winning.

A one place rise for Greece, which moved up one place compared to our analysis yesterday, “taking advantage” of the exclusion of the Netherlands. A possible victory of “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 81 and 251, with no change at all compared to yesterday.

Finland has moved up to ninth place, while Sweden completes the top ten, returning inside the Top 10 for the first time in many months. Both Finland and Sweden are both playing at a maximum odds of 251, exactly the same as ninth-placed Greece as well as the UK and Armenia, who are in 11th and 12th place.

Top 10

Of particular interest is one of the most popular markets for betting companies, that of entering the Top 10. Looking at the table below, it can be seen that bookers largely consider entry into the top 10 to be assured for a large proportion of the countries involved in the Grand Final.

The presence of four countries in the top 10 is considered a given. Croatia, Switzerland, Ukraine and Israel are “given a place” in the top 10, with bookies offering this possibility at odds of under 1.10.

France and Italy are almost taken for granted that they too will have a place in the top 10 at Eurovision 2024, with this possibility returning between 1.14 and 1.20 times the stake.

With the six spots in the Top 10 looking largely taken, four spots remain, with Ireland considered the seventh most likely to take a spot in the top ten at odds of 1.57.

Greece also has a very strong chance of a place inside the Top 10, being eighth in the table below and also the last country to offer odds of less than 2. In fact, a place inside the Top 10 for Marina Satti returns up to 1.91 times the stake.

Beyond that, the Netherlands‘ elimination from the grand final “opens up a spot” within the Top 10 that was considered by many to be a lock. Automatically, it opens the way for two more spots for the top 10 of the ranking. Thus, Sweden is considered the ninth most likely to make the top ten and Armenia the tenth most likely. Both are being played at odds close to 2.5.

Conclusions

We are only a few hours away from the most dramatic final in Eurovision history, which has been tainted by the events of the last few days in Malmö. Leaving aside everything that has marked the contest so far, tonight’s final is the most controversial of all time, where no one can accurately predict what will happen. All possibilities are open and no outcome will come as a surprise.

Which country do you think will win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Ireland: Bambie Thug is angry because of the comments from the Israeli commentators during the semi-final!

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Bambie Thug who is representing Ireland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is asking contest organizers to investigate commentary from Israeli television ahead of their appearance in the first semi-final on Tuesday.

Claiming that this comment broke the rules of Eurovision, Bambie Thug is of the opinion that Israel should not participate in the contest. In an interview with RTÉ News they said:

“There’s a lot more anger and a lot more drive in me now”

On Tuesday, a commentator for Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, warned viewers with children that the performance of Bambie Thug’s Doomsday Blue would be “the scariest” of the night. The commentator, referring to a well-known public square in Jerusalem that was central to the city’s nightlife in the 1990s and synonymous with goth culture, said:

“There will be a lot of spells and black magic and dark clothing, Satanic symbols, and voodoo dolls, like we are at Cats Square in Jerusalem in the mid-90s.”

The commentator said there was “some controversy” in Ireland about the song, referring to a request calling on RTÉ to exclude Doomsday Blue as an Irish entry. He also noted that Bambie Thug liked to “speak negatively about Israel.”

In their interview, Bambie Thug said the commentary, which aired on Israeli public broadcaster Kan, was pointed out to them. They said it will cause increased anger in their performance in tonight’s grand final.

“I’m angry with other teams breaching their rules of the [European Broadcasting Union], and still being allowed in.

“So there’s definitely a war drum sounding in my heart to push the performance even more than I have done before.”

Source: RTÉ

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Breaking News: Bambie Thug didn’t perform at the afternoon preview of the Grand Final!

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Bambie Thug, the Irish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, has made headlines for their unique style and impressive vocal performance. However, as the afternoon preview show of the Grand Final is on-going it is noticed that they did not perform on stage.

The reasons behind this decision are not clear yet, Bambie earlier posted a story letting their fan know what has happened:

Bambie story

Bambie story

Bambie Thug, known for their ‘goth gremlin’ persona, has been praised for their dramatic staging and has become the first Irish delegate to make it through to the Eurovision final since 2018 and the first non-binary contestant to ever qualify to the finals in the history of the contest.

Their absence from the preview show is sure to be a disappointment for their fans and viewers alike. We look forward to more updates on this situation.

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Eurovision 2024: Family Show of the Grand Final- Live Commentary (Updated Live)

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The family show of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 has just begun. The family show is the afternoon show before the live broadcast that starts at 21:00 CET, where the artists perform once again their entries. The Family Show is more financially convenient, identical to the live one for families and takes place earlier on the same day of the Grand Final.

EurovisionFun will be watching all the shows live both at the on-site press centre in Malmö and at the online press centre and will be commenting on the full performances of the 26 participating countries.

This article gets updated in real time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser!

So stay tuned to this article as we update it with all the details, preparing you for what you will see in tonight’s Final, at 21:00 CEST.

The competition part

Sweden

Another professional performance by Marcus & Martinus. They are superstars and we can all tell! I can see a top ten coming for Sweden.

Ukraine

A touching performance by Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona. They are contenders to win the contest and every performance of them is magical.

Germany

Amazing vocals and a fiery performance, but they are not enough. The song feels bland.

Luxembourg

A great comeback for Luxembourg. Tali looks and sounds amazing. We hope all the best for the Duchy!

Israel

Another touching performance by Eden. This is how a ballad can be performed in a modern way. Eden is not separated by her dancers, they are all a part of the same “symphony”.

Lithuania

Love the performance. No one in the audience can stay still when Silvester performs and his energy is haunting.

Spain

The crowd goes crazy for “ZORRA”. The fans love it and every performance is stunning.

Estonia

Not a fan of this entry but the crowd also loves it.

Ireland

Bambie did not take the stage today as an incident happened. Another performance of Bambie was played instead.

Latvia

Another good performance by Dons, no changes in this rehearsal.

Greece

Marina sounded and looked great today. Despite having a cold, her vocals were on point.

United Kingdom

Olly gave a great performance and despite a minor mistake in the shots, this looked great.

Norway

Gåte never fail to deliver a great performance, and so they did during this rehearsal. Big applause at the Arena!

Italy

Angelina and her dancers are wearing the black outfits and honestly this looks great. Bravo Italia!

Serbia

Vocally on point, Teya gave another great performance.

Finland

This entry might not be everyone’s cup of tea but the crowd in the arena seems to love it!

Portugal

Minimalistic perfection. Great vocals by Iolanda and an applause at the Press Centre!

Armenia

Such a catchy entry. Audience was singing along! Armenia bringing the great vibes that we need.

Cyprus

Only 17 years old and such a class act. Silia gave -another- great performance!

Switzerland

Nemo is just incredible. This performance is just breathtaking. Definitely a contender for the victory.

Slovenia

A solid performance by Raiven. Vocally on point.

Croatia

In every single performance, Baby Lasagna nailed it. Is this the Eurovision 2024 winner? We will find out tonight!

Georgia

Vocals? On point. Visuals? On point. Georgia is deservingly back in the Grand Final.

France

In the middle of the performance, Slimane stopped singing and gave a message of peace and unity. Big applause at the Press Centre.

Austria

Kaleen sounded and looked great. A great entry to close the Grand Final.

Interval Acts

Abba appeared via holograms leading to Charlotte Perrelli, Carola and Conchita singing “Waterloo”!

The results 

These results are neither valid nor real, but they come about in order to serve the rehearsal’s purposes, but the winner was Estonia.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the XX participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, in Malmö!

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Eurovision 2024: Tonight the Grand Final!

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The 68th Eurovision Song Contest is being completed today in Malmo with the Grand Final.

Twenty six countries will participate in tonight’s show, aiming to be the winner of Eurovision 2024 that will be crowned in a few hours from now.

The presenters for tonight’s event, as well as all shows until Saturday, will be Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman.

The 26 participating countries in tonight’s Grand Final are:

R/O COUNTRY ARTIST SONG
1 Sweden Marcus & Martinus “Unforgettable”
2 Ukraine alyona alyona & Jerry Heil “Teresa & Maria”
3 Germany Isaak “Always on the Run”
4 Luxembourg Tali “Fighter”
5 Netherlands Joost Klein “Europapa”
6 Israel Eden Golan “Hurricane”
7 Lithuania Silvester Belt “Luktelk”
8 Spain Nebulossa “Zorra”
9 Estonia 5miinust & Puuluup “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”
10 Ireland Bambie Thug “Doomsday Blue”
11 Latvia Dons “Hollow”
12 Greece Marina Satti “Zari”
13 United Kingdom Olly Alexander “Dizzy”
14 Norway Gåte “Ulveham”
15 Italy Angelina Mango “La noia”
16 Serbia Teya Dora “Ramonda”
17 Finland Windows95man “No Rules!”
18 Portugal Iolanda “Grito”
19 Armenia Ladaniva “Jako”
20 Cyprus Silia Kapsis “Liar”
21 Switzerland Nemo “The Code”
22 Slovenia Raiven “Veronika”
23 Croatia Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”
24 Georgia Nutsa Buzaladze “Firefighter”
25 France Slimane “Mon amour”
26 Austria Kaleen “We Will Rave​”

Tonight 50% of the final result is decided, after last night’s jury show that the remaining 50% was voted.

The Grand Final kicks off at 21:00 CET, and you can watch it live on the official Eurovision YouTube channel, as well as on various public broadcaster across Europe.

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Bets: Derby for two for the victory| Lots of shuffling after the second semi-final!

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The two semi-finals brought upsets upon upsets to the betting tables, with several countries standing out and others losing ground. The leak of the Italian public’s votes in the second semi-final changed the scene dramatically, with everything we wrote yesterday going out the window.

With less than 36 hours to go until the Eurovision 2024 grand final, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest.

Derby at the top

Israel‘s “breath” is now felt by Croatia, with last night’s RAI leak moving Eden Golan up six places, with room to move up even further. The sweeping wave of support for Israel‘s entry, which counted around 40% of the Italian public vote, may indicate a Europe-wide trend of support for the Hurricane.

When yesterday, in a total of 16 countries, one song has received 40% of the votes and the second, the Netherlands, has just under 8%, then we can talk about a situation that could have a profound effect on the development of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

In any case, even at the time of writing this article, the first favourite is Croatia. Baby Lasagna‘s supersonic performance in the first semi-final had given Croatia a clear margin of victory, with its maiden win as an independent country “just around the corner” according to bookers who offered that possibility at odds of 1.62 to 1.91 before the second semi-final. At the moment, you can bet on a maiden Croatian victory at odds between 1.83 and 2.25.

Second is Israel, who yesterday before their appearance in the second semi-final and, especially, the Italian broadcaster’s leak, were considered the eighth favourite to win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, at odds close to 67. As expected, those odds are now a thing of the past. Thus, Israel‘s win at Eurovision 2024 is being played at odds between 2.75 and 3.5. This is the biggest odds drop recorded from semi-final to final in Eurovision history, and it is not unlikely that in the next few hours Croatia will get even closer in the next few hours.

Despite Nemo‘s excellent performance in last night’s second semi-final, Switzerland has dropped to third place as a direct result of Israel’s rapid rise. Switzerland and Nemo‘s victory is now being bet at odds between 6 and 9, up from 3.5 to 4 last night.

The second winner of last night’s show is undoubtedly France, which is the only country along with Israel to see its odds fall by the hour. Between 17 and 26 was being played last night for France to win, while it is now being played between 11 and 17. Slimane‘s outstanding performance, which moved millions of viewers across Europe, lifted the French above the Ukrainians, Irish and Italians.

The top five is completed by Ukraine, being the big loser after the second semi-final, losing two places from where they were in our last analysis. With the odds on offer having almost doubled, currently as much as 26 times the stakes are returning on a Ukrainian win in Malmö.

Top 10

At similar odds to Ukraine, you can also play Ireland, who have dropped to sixth place, having been in fourth before the second semi-final. The possibility of Ireland winning is now offered between 13 and 26.

A loss of one place for Italy too, with a win for Angelina Mango tomorrow night returning up to 36 times the money of anyone who bets on her. Rising odds for Italy, who have lost whatever momentum they had before the contest.

The same is true, but to an even greater extent, for eighth-placed Netherlands. Having lost five places compared to before the start of the rehearsals and now outside the top five in eighth place, a potential win for Joost Klein and “Europapa” could return up to 81 times the stake.

Greece remains in ninth place at the time of writing, with the fluctuations during the day being huge. In the early hours of the morning of May 10 we have seen too many countries move up and down continuously, with some time of the day being within the top ten and others even lower. The same has happened in the case of Greece, which is now ninth, but was earlier in 15th place. A possible win for “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 81 and 251, higher than in our analysis the day before yesterday where it was played at odds between 51 and 151.

At the same maximum odds as Greece, one finds the United Kingdom, which completes the top ten. Up to 251 times the stake is returned on the UK’s first win within the 21st century.

Conclusions

We await with great interest in the coming hours whether the betting tables will be further affected, following the leak of Italy‘s votes in last night’s semi-final with its sweeping support for Israel. In any case, we’ll be back with additional betting articles ahead of the grand final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!