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Ireland has secured a place in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest final for the first time since 2018 thanks to Cork-born singer Bambie Thug.
Bambie (real name Bambie Ray Robinson), 31, was voted through following their performance of “Doomsday Blue” at the semi-finals in Malmo, Sweden, on Tuesday (7 May)
Croatia, Luxembourg, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Portugal, Lithuania, Finland and Cyprus were the other nations whose acts progressed to the final.
Ryan O’Shaughnessy reached the grand final for Ireland with “Together” in Lisbon, Portugal, four years ago, where he came 16th.
Bambie has a chance to take Ireland to the win, which the country has not achieved since 1996 with Eimear Quinn’s “The Voice.”
During their first Eurovision performance, Bambie’s male dancers looked almost devil-like with blue paint, highly exaggerated ears and fake teeth.
Towards the end of the song, they also revealed the trans flag on their costume ahead of fire appearing to be set off around the stage.
Elsewhere on the night, Years and Years singer Olly Alexander delivered his first Eurovision performance, which featured upside-down locker room staging.
Cameras were rotated to give a spinning feel to Alexander and the dancers as the singer wore a white singlet, red trousers, and boots, which looked a little distressed at the Malmo Arena in Sweden.
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The rendition of “Dizzy” was energetic, and it is the first time the UK, which is already through to the finals, has performed in a semi-final.
33-year-old Alexander has come under intense pressure to boycott the competition in recent months due to Israel’s involvement, which many Eurovision fans have objected to due to the country’s ongoing war on Gaza.
Alexander said in a recent interview that, while he believes his goals are the same as Queers for Palestine – “a ceasefire, returning the hostages, the safety and security of all people in Gaza. All the Palestinians and the people in Israel” – his participation or not in Eurovision “isn’t going to make a difference to those things, so that’s why I’m still doing it”.
Organisers behind the Eurovision Song Contest have consistently rejected calls to ban Israel from competing amid its war on Gaza.
Widespread protests are expected in Sweden on the night of the grand final, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 11 May.
Hosting duties will be performed live from the Malmö Arena by Swedish-American actor Malin Åkerman and Eurovision veteran Petra Mede.
You’ll be able to follow all the latest news and updates via The Independent’s usual liveblog.
Additional reporting by agencies
