Eurovision Song Contest 2024

delboy85

Ireland now up to 9th in the odds to win! Belgium continues to drop and is now down to 10th place.

Ireland still in 9th place to qualify from semi-final 1 but the percentage odds keep slowly increasing.

All looking promising for qualification.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122048005#Comment_122048005

Its like telling the missus you'd never cheat on her with Margot Robbie.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122048005#Comment_122048005

It wasn’t activism, they were asked the question, and answered honestly. And tbh it’s probably the same conclusion most here would come to on a great many things. That’s just life. Just because someone might do a small act, doesn’t mean they would do everything. It’s like asking someone who gave a fiver to charity why they didn’t give their life savings if they seemingly believe in that charity. Or the Aussie soccer team publicly expressing their dismay that the World Cup was held in Qatar, but still playing in it because the personal cost of going against the associations decision was just too high.

We don’t get to live in the world we’d like, we have to live in the world that is.

johnire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122048072#Comment_122048072

But then there’s that pesky little thing called principles….

supereurope

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/400-irish-artists-including-erica-cody-and-siobhan-mcsweeney-sign-letter-urging-bambie-thug-to-boycott-eurovision/a730614387.html

If RTÉ was to withdraw from Eurovision at this stage, it would incur a penalty from EBU, plus it would still be expected to pay its participation fee. The time for this kind of discussion was earlier this year, not now.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051327#Comment_122051327

I wonder would Erica sign it if she was picked over Bambi?

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051340#Comment_122051340

I admit Erica signing it does have a whiff of "I didn't get the chance to go to Eurovision so neither should you."

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051327#Comment_122051327

Also, they are targeting entirely the wrong person - their petition should have gone to RTE or the EBU. Bambie is in Eurovision as a mere representative of the broadcaster and is under contract to them. It's the national broadcaster who competes in the Contest, not the artist.

yerwanthere123

The time for all these petitions was at the beginning of the year, not two weeks before Eurovision starts. I also think it's uncalled for to aim it at the artist themselves, it should be directed at RTE if they insist on pressing with the issue. Also, pretty pathetic from Erica Cody it must be said.

AndyBoBandy

if Erica Cody is so against Bambi competing at the Eurovision, how come Cody still put herself forward and competed in Eurosong? The war in Gaza had long since been underway when Eurosong happened…

Absolutely wreaks of sore loser mentality… and more justification that the right song was chosen…

supereurope

This day 41 years ago was a dark one for Ireland at Eurovision. On 23 April, the 1983 contest took place in Munich, West Germany (as it was then) - but Ireland wasn't there. Due to financial difficulties at RTÉ caused by the government's refusal to grant it a licence fee increase, major budget cutbacks had to be made in Montrose, with the National Song Contest and Eurovision participation two of the casualties. 

Ireland's withdrawal in 1983 is often attributed to a strike at RTÉ (including on Wikipedia and the normally well-researched Reorderboard channel on YouTube), but it was definitely due to financial constraints. Despite not competing, RTÉ still aired the contest live via the BBC, which meant RTÉ viewers could enjoy/endure (depending on how they felt about him) Terry Wogan's commentary. Brendan Balfe commented for Radio 1 listeners, but I assume he did so from Dublin and didn't travel to Munich.

On the night of the contest, RTÉ received over 50 complaints from viewers, mainly from those who were disgruntled at the decision not to enter a song. Some viewers, however, complained that RTÉ shouldn't have wasted money by showing a contest Ireland wasn't competing in, and 12 viewers complained about Terry Wogan's commentary!

All in all, the 1983 contest was a mixed bag. The standard of the songs was a big improvement on the weak 1982 contest and the orchestra was great, but the production from German television was poor. The stage was bland (it's considered one of the worst of the decade by many fans), and the show was a long-drawn-out affair that lasted for over three hours, the longest in contest history at that point.

Most of the blame for the show overrunning goes to the presenter, Marlene Charell, who hosted the show in three languages - German, English and French. The voting was a particularly tiring ordeal due to the trilingual repeating of the points and the many mistakes made by Marlene.

The running time wasn't all Marlene's fault, though. In an innovation for 1983, all the participating performers were introduced on stage at the beginning of the contest, stretching out the running time even further. This "opening ceremony" proved unpopular and was dropped the following year, but it returned in 2013, now known as the "flag ceremony."

There was a close voting sequence, but the slow pace took away so much of the excitement. After the first five countries had voted, it looked like Germany might have been on course for a second consecutive win, but Luxembourg soon took the lead and stayed here. However, it never surged ahead of its rivals, with Sweden, Yugoslavia and Israel staying close behind. It wasn't until the second-last jury in Belgium had voted that Luxembourg was guaranteed its fifth, and to date, last, Eurovision win.

By October 1983, RTÉ's financial situation had improved enough to allow Ireland to return to Eurovision. And what a comeback it would turn out to be! It would be 2002 before Ireland would miss the contest again, but that would be for reasons other than financial.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052037#Comment_122052037

One big plus with Eurovision 1983 though is that it had a great orchestra. Check out some of the live versions on YouTube (UK and Sweden for example).

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122052299#Comment_122052299

Yes, the orchestra that year really lifted the songs. The studio versions of some of my favourite songs from the 1983 contest are mediocre in comparison to the live versions.

I've always thought it was terribly harsh on Corinne Hermès that she was wiped from the montage of past winners that appeared at the start of the 1995 contest in Dublin. I appreciate that Ireland wasn't there in 1983 but that was no reason to wipe the Munich contest from history.

gmisk

Well, this is terrific!

https://twitter.com/EurovisionFaith/status/1782527809442730104?t=cQock2t0SXbkuMnfx9a9SA&s=19

squonk

brilliant! Delighted to see Scooch’s Flying The Flag included. That’s one of my all time favourites and I really think the UK deserved a win with that one.

Rodgeb

Couldn't agree more with many of the comments above, Israel should have been kicked out months ago and the EBU has handled this terribly.

Bambie has already addressed this in that joint statement released a few weeks ago and again at the Late Late Show. Publishing this letter now and directing it to Bambie Thug instead of RTE or the EBU is seriously misdirected

Also even if Bambie was to suddenly announce they were boycotting is there a possibility that RTE might just send a replacement act to avoid EBU penalties and a possible corporate sponsor backlash? I imagine Louis Walsh might be quick to point out that his act finished second in Eurosong, would not cause any trouble and are even called Next In Line.... 😉

Anyway, Doomsday Blue is a cracker and I think we could do very,very well this year.

odyssey06

The Eurovision Semi-Finals will be live on BBC1, in previous years I seem to remember them being on BBC3?

Commentary on the semis comes from Rylan and Scott Mills.

gmisk

In no way counting chickens, but now up to 8th in betting odds to qualify from semi final.

Interesting that Sweden seem to be dropping like a stone....

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062322#Comment_122062322

I wouldn’t have known too much about your man Rylan before last years contest other than something something reality tv and randomly popping up on the comedy quiz show circuit etc…. But he’s actually a funny guy…

I’ll be watching all 3 shows in Lithuania on Lithuanian TV, unless perhaps RTÉ allow it to stream on the player without geo blocking it (but even when we’re in Ireland we don’t watch on RTÉ anyway..) I do have VPN’s I could use but BBC player is more hassle than it’s worth in trying to get going as I think you need an account…… so Lithuanian commentary it is…

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122061164#Comment_122061164

Louis Walsh probably co-ordinated the writing of that letter! I wouldn't put it past him.

Seriously though, if Bambie pulled out now, there would be simply be no Irish entry in Malmö. The EBU sets a date every year by which it must have approved all entries, normally in early/mid-March, and after this date, it's very difficult to make notable changes to a song. I seem to recall Macedonia getting in trouble a few years ago when they decided a few weeks after the March date that they wanted to sing the last verse of their entry in English. I think they had to do quite a bit of begging to the EBU to get the change approved, so I imagine submitting a entirely new song and singer at this late stage would be absolutely out of the question.

In other words, it's Bambie or nothing. And if it was nothing, RTÉ would still be required to pay its participation fee because it pulled out at a late stage, and it might even face additional sanction, up to and including a ban from the contest for several years. As I said earlier this week, the time to have the discussion about a boycott has been and gone.

Edit: typo

delboy85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062353#Comment_122062353

I can't remember ever seeing Sweden so low in the odds before (in the modern era).

The song is not great but they've sent worse in the past 10 years.

That awful Justin Timberlake wannabe springs to mind from a few years back (Benjamin something??). Dreadful song. But the juries seemed to love it for some reason. Thankfully it came near the bottom of the televote.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122063260#Comment_122063260

The juries have been fawning over Sweden's overproduced, generic pop entries for quite a few years now. Back in 2008 when the rules allowed the juries to save one song from semi-final elimination, they decided to save (surprise, surprise) Sweden. Still, it was entertaining back in 2018/2019 to see Sweden near the top of the scoreboard after the jury vote, then sink like a stone once the televote scores were added.

Benjamin Ingrosso is the guy you're thinking of.

I think being on first is what has killed Sweden's chances this year…even with the voting lines opening at the start of the show, it's too big a handicap to overcome. It was possible once upon a time to win from an early position in the running order, but those days are gone.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122063260#Comment_122063260

Duplicate post.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122063133#Comment_122063133

My earlier post has started me thinking back to 1995 and the plagiarism allegations that emerged about our entry "Dreamin'" just days before the contest at The Point. The papers at the time reported that the runner-up from Eurosong '95 would have been called up to compete at Eurovision, just over a week before the contest. I doubt that would happen in 2024 though, the EBU are far more involved now than back then (it was RTÉ that cleared "Dreamin'" to compete, whereas that would be the EBU's decision now), and the circumstances might also have been different because of we were the home entry. I don't think anyone, including the EBU, could imagine the contest going ahead without a home entry.

Quantum Erasure

Its like something out of Father Ted, you couldn't make it up, etc.etc.

Strazdas

Bambie's first rehearsal is tomorrow morning at 11.30am Irish time - no hanging around.

delboy85

Ireland now up to 7th in the odds to qualify with a 77% chance (which is edging up all the time).

yerwanthere123

Were we following the Eurojury results all week?

France have topped the vote, Ireland came 24th overall, which is a decent enough showing

For anyone who doesn't know, its designed to emulate how the actual juries may vote at Eurovision, although as the Eurojury only have studio recordings/national final performances to go on the results are often wildly different to what actually transpires in Eurovision. It has, however, predicted the jury winner for the last two years running, so whilst it can be taken with a grain of salt it's also a potential insight as to what might transpire in two weeks.

I do believe France will win the jury vote now, his voice is so good there's no way it won't be rewarded highly.

yerwanthere123

Excited for rehearsals to begin tomorrow morning, although I don't expect we'll actually get much info. First rehearsals have been closed to the press the last couple of years and I expect that to continue. It'll probably be second rehearsals (starting Wednesday, I think) before we have any kind of idea as to how Bambie is shaping up.