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Ireland: With the creative director of Heroes in Eurovision 2021.

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Ok, now her chances of reaching the final have increased. Ireland’s stage director this year is Benke Rydman.

In her interview on Wiwibloggs, the 2021 representative of Ireland, Lesley Roy, revealed that the creative director for her entry Maps on the stage of Rotterdam is going to be  Fredrik “Benke” Rydman, the man behind the staging of Måns Zelmerlöw’s Heroes in Vienna in 2015.

 

“I’m very excited about our Rotterdam performance. Our creative director this year is Fredrik Rydman — Benke — who did the staging and the creative directing for Mans Zelmerlow “Heroes”. So, we have a winner on our team. We’ve been working together on this concept since December. I really just hope we get to go there”

 

All the same, given the situation in Ireland and globally, Lesley is also ready for the possibility that she might not be able to travel to Rotterdam, the Netherlands in May.

 

“Anyone going through any version of life this year has to know if you’re getting into something you have to be very aware that it could just be gone the next day. So, I did get into it knowing that and that was another reason that I wanted to push really hard and make a very epic music video. And we’ll do our best with the backup tape. Obviously, I wish we had more time and more similarities to what Benke and I would like to do for Rotterdam. But at the same time what Alan Byrne the director is doing in RTÉ, as far as the backup tape and what we can do there, I think it will be what it is if it gets cancelled”

 

During this week, Lesley finished the recording of her Eurovision backup tape, which will be used should the Irish team don’t travel to Rotterdam.

Apart from Heroes (Sweden ESC2015), Fredrik “Benke” Rydman has directed the following Melodifestivalen entries:

ISA – I Will Wait (MF 2016)

Mohombi – Hello (MF 2019)

Danny – Dandi Dansa (MF 2021)

 

Eric Saade – Every Minute (MF 2021)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbQZ-GwovBo

Source: Wiwibloggs

Ireland: 50 years after their aunt Dana, The Rua the big favorite for Eurovision 2020

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We have read in The Sun, but also in other Irish media, that the big favorite to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2020 is a band, The Rua. The three brothers who make up The Rua are the nieces of Ireland’s first contest winner, Dana!

Who are The Rua?

But apart from the famous aunt, The Rua has had a lot of success since its creation in 2013, and their latest single entered the Billboard Top 50 in the US.

The Rua’s are Roseanna Brown, Alanna Brown and Jonathan Brown. Born and raised in Windsor, England, but with Irish descent. Their critics described the style of their music, something between Taylor Swift and Cranberries.

Two were the highlights of their career. This year, with the opening act for Westlife’s tour concerts in the UK and Ireland, as well as the participation of all three in the cast of Harry Potter films. They have also participated in other famous film productions (Maleficent, The Crown etc.).

Their goal is Eurovision 2020

The Irish Sun reveals that The Rua have set their sights on Eurovision 2020 next May in Rotterdam, exactly 50 years after Dana, also known as Rosemary Scallon, won for Ireland again with “All Kinds Of Everything”. Succeeding the first of the Queen’s seven victories in the competition.

The deadline for submitting a song to RTE on Ireland’s selection to participate in Eurovision 2020 was last Friday, October 25th. The broadcaster has decided to make its choice within the next ten days.

Great interest in Ireland for Rotterdam

An Irish public broadcaster source told The Sun:

“There has been a great response this year for our participation in Eurovision. It is very likely that Ireland will take the lead in the jury rankings in the Netherlands, 50 years after the anniversary of our first victory with Dana again. There would be huge media interest in Dana’s nephews who would take over exactly 50 years later and represent Ireland at Eurovision.”

In its call, the RTE stressed that the Irish representative at Eurovision must have “previous experience in performing in front of large crowds. Confidence and professional conduct are clear advantages “

Dana supports The Rua

Alanna Brown said their aunt has supported them from the beginning to get to the top. “She was always very supportive and if we have any questions we go to her”.

Roseanna added: “She wants us to step on our six feet and she didn’t want to interfere with us in any way. She’s there to support us, we know that. She’s interested in the songs, what we do and is there to give us advice. We want to have the freedom to be The Rua, and that’s essential”.

18-year-old Dana and Ireland’s first win

Dana was just 18 when her career was launched internationally in 1970, winning the contest in front of a television audience of 200 million people.

In 1999, she was elected Member of Parliament, the first Eurovision winner to do so.

There are not few who think Dana could return to Rotterdam in the Netherlands next May, a short distance from The Hague, where the contest took place in 1970, to relive the Eurovision triumph through her nieces this time.

In addition to their 68-year-old aunt, The Rua can also rely on the help of Louis Walsh, a well-known manager and X Factor UK judge!

Source: The Sun

 

Ireland: Linda Martin starring in the official video clip for Junior Eurovision 2019

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Almost a month is left for the Junior Eurovision 2019 in Glivice, Poland. Ireland’s public broadcaster has recently released the video clip of “Banshee”, the Irish act in the contest. Surprisingly, we watched Eurovision 1992 winner, Linda Martin, in the lead!

Anna Kearney won the Irish National Junior Eurovision final “Éire 2019” and will represent Ireland at the Eurovision children’s competition. She will perform the song “Banshee”, hoping to bring Ireland its first victory in this institution.

Irish Public broadcaster thought a clever way to call attention to its entry. She put Linda Martin in the leading role in the video.

The video clip is full of Irish forests and seas. It goes back to the Middle Ages, so Anna Kearney’s relative ambivalence is justified. Throughout the video we see a mysterious woman who does not reveal her identity by wearing a cape, which also hides her face. Only at the end the mysterious woman revealed herself, and we see that she is Linda Martin.

Ireland: Listen to its entry for Junior Eurovision 2019

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Anna Kearney won the Irish National Junior Eurovision Eire 2019 and will represent Ireland in Glivice, Poland. She will perform the song “Banshee”, hoping to bring Ireland’s first victory in children’s contest.

Listen to the Irish Junior Eurovision 2019 entry below:

https://youtu.be/JsZ0QBUj2SY

Ireland: Eurovision 2019 exceeded €300,000

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In a yesterday’s article in Irish Mirror, the cost of the Irish participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest was listed.

Specifically, RTE spent more than 300,000 euros to participate in this year’s event. The total cost of € 336,617 was increased by 10% from last year’s € 304,088. RTE said the cost increase can be attributed to a number of factors, such as the journey distance, 5,500 km from Dublin to Tel Aviv, compared to 2,800 km for Lisbon in 2018.

RTE sent a delegation of 19 people to Tel Aviv, while flights to Tel Aviv reached close to 22,000 euros. In addition, they spent 50,000 euros for 2-week accommodation. Finally, 43,000 euros were spent on design, construction, props and lighting.

Of course, the public broadcaster had to pay also a subscription fee of  EUR 85,000 to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for its participation in Eurovision 2019.

An RTE’s spokesman stated that the costs did not include RTE’s workforce charges and that all flights were economy class while Eurovision representatives should stay only in designated hotels.

The cost of Eurovision 2019 may have been high, but the final result was disappointing. The queen of Eurovision, represented by Sarah McTernan and the song “22“, failed to qualify for the big Finals, finishing in the 18th (last) of the second semifinal with 16 points.