The Met Gala isn’t the only sacred ritual on this week; it’s also EUROVISION season!
Two semi-finals will take place in Lisbon ahead of the final on Saturday; the first one tonight and the second on Thursday night.
Ireland will perform in semi-final 1 tonight and our entry is Together, performed by Ryan O’Shaughnessy.
He will be the eighteenth of nineteen acts to take to the stage tonight and you can catch it on RTE 2 from 8pm with Ireland expected to perform around 9.15pm.
Here’s the song and video:
Ireland is still the most successful country in the contest since the beginning in 1965, with a total of 7 wins.
Younger people watching Eurovision may never remember a time when Ireland has won; in the 21st century Ireland hasn’t done too well. We only reached the top 10 on 3 occasions. Eamonn Toal came 6th in 2000, Brian Kennedy came 10th in 2006 and Jedward – JEDWARD! – came 8th in 2011.
Ireland finished last in the final for the first time in 2007, and again in 2013. Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Ireland has failed to reach the final 7 times.
Hopefully that won't be the case tonight.
So why does Ireland keep entering the Eurovision song contest?
Some questions into the show this morning included:
- Can’t we divorce ourselves from that cringey competition?
- Why does Ireland keep participating in this farce?
- Is it undignified to hear Irlande Nil Points time and time again (which doesn’t actually ever happen by the way, unless you’re watching Father Ted)
Weeell....
Simply put; lots of people love it. There will be Eurovision parties in homes across the country this weekend, and many people will attend events in pubs and other venues where they will watch with other Eurovision fans.
Along with the HUNDREDS of MILLIONS of other viewers across Europe, and the rest of the world.
People REALLY like Eurovision.
