Bambie hug – Eurovision voters put Ireland in the final

Ireland’s Eurovision entry Bambie Thug, singing Doomsday Blue, has qualified for Saturday’s final in Malmö, Sweden.

As widely expected, the Cork singer was among the ten acts to qualify from the first semi-final on Tuesday night at the Malmö Arena.

With Ireland’s Eurovision commentator Marty Whelan promising something extraordinary, Bambie Thug delivered a superbly staged performance that mixed menace, melody, and the dark arts, ending with the exhortation to “Crown the Witch”.

Eurovision voters took heed. Ireland last qualified for the final in 2018.

On Tuesday night, Serbia, Portugal, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, Croatia, and Luxembourg also qualified for Saturday’s final.

The second semi-final takes place on Thursday night when, in performance order, Armenia, Albania, Austria, Czechia, Denmark, Greece, Malta, Switzerland, Belgium, Estonia, Israel, Georgia, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, and San Marino will compete for the 10 places available.