Ireland’s Eurovision act Wild Youth slam the contest in a furious post
“They never gave us a chance!” Irish Eurovision act Wild Youth slammed the contest in a furious post after failing to secure a spot in the final
Irish Eurovision act Wild Youth have slammed the contest in a furious post after they failed to secure a spot in Saturday’s final.
The group was one of five acts to be eliminated in the semi-finals on Tuesday after singing their song We Are One.
In a now-deleted post, the band’s frontman Conor O’Donohoe took to Instagram to claim that their country “never got a chance,” with a screenshot of the caption later shared by a fan on Twitter.
He wrote: ‘We did what we could. Michael Kealy [RTE’s Eurovision Head of Delegation] was great. But the truth is they never give Ireland a chance. Sorry if we let you down, we did our best.’
The ten acts that made it to Tuesday’s semi-finals were; Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Israel, Sweden, Serbia, Portugal and Norway.
Drama! Irish Eurovision act Wild Youth have slammed the competition in a furious post after they failed to secure a spot in Saturday’s final
Outraged: In a now-deleted post, the band’s frontman, Conor O’Donohoe, took to Instagram to claim their country “never got a chance”
For their performance, Conor donned a sparkly gold sequined jumpsuit and matching stage lights, with fans proudly waving the Irish flag at Liverpool’s M&S Arena.
Irish Eurovision Song Contest commentator Marty Whelan also struggled to hide his disappointment when he learned that his country would be in the final.
Speaking live on RTE One he said: ‘Everything was absolutely perfect, they were fantastic.
“There are things I want to say, there are things I want to share. You can probably tell from the tone of my voice, which I think is this… Ugh, this is just such a shame.
But the votes didn’t come. So we’re not qualifying from Liverpool again this year when we had high expectations, as the famous book says.
‘We are extremely proud of Wild Youth – they have put in a brilliant performance and have been fantastic representatives for Ireland.’
Ireland has not reached a Eurovision final since 2018, when Ryan O’Shaughnessy continued with his song Together.
Yet the country still holds the record for the most wins in Eurovision Song Contest history with seven, a number that Sweden could match if they win this year’s contest.
He’s ready! The group were one of five acts eliminated from Tuesday’s semi-final after performing their song We Are One (Conor O’Donohoe is pictured leaving the arena)
Energetic! For their performance, Conor wore a shimmering gold sequined jumpsuit with matching stage lights
The second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest takes place on Thursday, with 16 acts taking the stage, with 10 advancing to Saturday’s final.
In a rule change this year, the decision on who advances is entirely up to the public, with national juries having their say during Saturday’s final.
31 countries will compete in two semi-finals, 10 of which will advance to the grand final.
Last year’s winner, Ukraine, automatically advanced to the grand final, along with the big five, consisting of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Eurovision semi-final part two takes place on BBC One on Thursday at 8pm.