Bambie Thug, the pro-Palestine Irish act from the Eurovision Song Contest, exploded in anger over their ‘horrible’ experience on the show after finishing behind Israel in the final.
This year’s show was perhaps the most controversial yet, with acts hiding messages of support for Palestine in their costumes, a disqualification and multiple feuds.
One of the most talked about artists was Ireland’s Bambi Thug – who accused Eurovision bosses of ‘not supporting’ them during a row with Israel over comments made about them by a broadcaster.
Bambie finished a respectable sixth place, while Swiss non-binary star Nemo rose to victory.
But at a press conference after the final they were outraged by an incident involving Israeli broadcaster Kan and the EBU’s response, shouting: ‘F*** the EBU.’
Pro-Palestine Irish Eurovision Song Contest act Bambie Thug launched into an angry tirade about their ‘terrible’ experience on the show after being placed behind Israel in the final
One of the most talked about artists was Ireland’s Bambi Thug – who accused Eurovision bosses of ‘not supporting’ them during a row with Israel over comments made about them by a broadcaster.
Bambie, who describes herself as a “queer witch,” told journalists at the press center that Kan had “incited violence against me two, three times,” and that their team had raised this with the EBU, but the organizer had yet to still no response.
They accused Israeli broadcaster KAN of a rule violation and said they were waiting for a response from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) on what action would be taken.
On Tuesday, a KAN commentator warned viewers that Bambie’s performance of their song, Doomsday Blue, would be “the most terrifying” of the night, with “lots of spells and black magic and dark clothing, satanic symbols and voodoo dolls.” .
He went on to say that Bambie – who has been outspoken about their pro-Palestinian positions – liked to “talk negatively about Israel,” before adding, “But we can talk about that later. Prepare your curses.”
Asked about the incident at a press conference after the final, Bambie said: “So now that I’m free I can talk about anything, right?”
They raged: ‘[The EBU] We waited until the last minute, but we still haven’t gotten an explanation back, haven’t allowed ourselves to be scapegoats, haven’t allowed us to be the spokesperson to stand up for ourselves.
‘The broadcaster has broken the rules and I hope that this means they will not be able to participate again next year.’
Bambi added: “You don’t know how much pressure and how much work we put in to change things and I’m so proud of Nemo because he won and I’m so proud that we’re all in the top 10 going against this s* ** fought because it has been so hard and so terrible for us and I am so proud of us.
At a press conference after the final, they were outraged by an incident involving an Israeli broadcaster and claimed the EBU had done nothing about it, shouting: ‘F*** the EBU’
Bambie, who describes herself as a “queer witch,” told reporters at the press center that Kan “incited violence against me two, three times.”
Bambie Thug finished a respectable sixth place, while Swiss non-binary star Nemo rose to victory
‘And I just want to say: we are what Eurovision is. The EBU is not what the Eurovision Song Contest is. F*** the EBU. I don’t even care anymore. It is the participants, the community behind it, and the love, strength and support of all of us that create change.
‘And the world has spoken. The gays are coming. Non-binaries for the damn win.”
The dramatic development comes after Bambie missed the dress rehearsal. She said a “situation” required “urgent attention” from the EBU, but gave no further details.
The EBU said in a statement about the KAN commentary: ‘We have spoken to KAN, the Israeli broadcaster, about this issue and reiterated the importance of all commentators respecting all artists participating in the competition and adhering to the rules and prescriptions of the event.’
The Kan commentator said Bambie’s performance would be reminiscent of “Cats Square in Jerusalem in the mid-1990s,” referring to a public square that was a popular nightlife destination and a center for gothic culture.
He also said there had been “some controversy” in Ireland over Doomsday Blue, referring to a petition calling on the public broadcaster to disqualify the country from joining Ireland.
Irish entry Bambie appeared to comply with an order to remove the word ‘truce’ from their face in Ogham script – it appears to read ‘crown the witch’
Speaking to RTÉ News, Bambie said the comments had left them with ‘a lot more anger and a lot more drive in me now’ ahead of the final on Saturday night.
Ireland received the top 12 points award from the Australian jury vote, as well as a 10 from the British public as part of a total of 136 from the overall public vote, but ultimately failed to catch the eventual winner, Switzerland’s Nemo.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris congratulated Bambie on a ‘stunning performance and tour de force at Eurovision 2024’.
In what has been called the most chaotic competition in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, Greece’s Marina Satti and Switzerland’s Nemo, who later won, missed the flag parade.