Bambie Thug will represent Ireland at The Eurovision Song Contest 2024
Bambie Thug’s Doomsday Blue is chosen on Late Late Show Eurosong Special
Bambie Thug will represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, having emerged victorious on The Late Late Show Eurovision Special on RTÉ One tonight, following a tension filled national final!
The artist, from Macroom in Co. Cork, will now travel to Malmö, Sweden in May, where Ireland will compete in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, bidding to qualify for the grand final on Saturday May 11th.
Speaking just after the show, Bambie Thug said: “I don’t know how I feel – I feel incredible! My words are gone… as a lyricist you’d think I’d have more to say but I’m speechless – I’m so excited and I promise I’m going to do you so proud.”
Presented by Patrick Kielty, all six hopefuls took to the Late Late Show Eurosong Special stage tonight, showcasing their entries to the nation before the voting lines were opened up to the public. A panel of experts joined Patrick in the studio to give their analysis – Dancing with the Stars judge and choreographer Arthur Gourounlian, singer and 1993’s United Kingdom Eurovision entrant Sonia Evans (Better the Devil You Know) and RTÉ Radio 1 broadcaster Louise Duffy and comedian Gearóid Farrelly.
The other Eurosong competing acts were:
- Isabella Kearney (Let Me Be The Fire)
- Erica-Cody (Love Me Like I Do)
- AILSHA (Go Tobann)
- JyellowL (AKA Jean-Luc Uddoh) (Judas)
- Next in Line (Love Like Us)
The International Jury consisted of experts in the field of Eurovision from throughout Europe:
- Eric Lehmann – Head of Delegation for Luxembourg
- Annsi Autio – Executive Producer for Finland public service broadcaster YLE
- Kerstin Breyer – Independent music consultant from Austria
- Deban Aderemi – correspondent with Wiwibloggs, world’s leading Eurovision fan outlet and chair of the International Jury
The national jury consisted of:
- Tara Murray – Presenter with FM104
- Elaine McCann – Independent music consultant
- Niall Mooney – Songwriter with previous Eurovision entrants Niamh Kavanagh (2010) and Black Daisy (2009)
- Tracy Clifford – 2FM presenter and chair of the National Jury
Chair and spokesperson for the International Jury, Deban Aderemi, revealed that they had awarded the following points:
- 12 points to Next in Line
- 10 points to Erica-Cody
- 8 points to Bambie Thug
- 6 points to AILSHA
- 4 points to JYellowL
- 2 points to Isabella Kearn
Chair and spokesperson for the National Jury, Tracy Clifford, revealed that they had allocated:
- 12 points to Bambie Thug
- 10 points to AILSHA
- 8 points to JYellowL
- 6 points to Erica-Cody
- 4 points to Isabella Kearney
- 2 points to Next in Line
It was all to play for when it came to the public vote, with the 2022 Irish Eurovision representative Brooke Scullion announcing that the Irish public had awarded the following points:
- 12 points to Bambie Thug – Total 32
- 10 points to Next in Line – Total 24
- 8 points to AILSHA – Total 24
- 6 points to Erica-Cody Total – 22
- 4 points to JYellowL Total – 16
- 2 points to Isabella Kearney – Total 8
Last autumn, RTÉ issued a callout on The Late Late Show for artists and songwriters with the talent and ambition to compete and succeed in this highly competitive environment.
The 68th Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will be held in Malmö Arena after Loreen scooped the coveted title for a second time with her entry Tattoo for Sweden in 2023. Two semi-finals will take place on Tuesday May 7th and Thursday 9th followed by the Grand Final on Saturday May 11th 2024.
The Draw to determine which Semi-Final Ireland will compete and vote in will take place on Tuesday 30 January at 19:00 CET live from Malmö, alongside a ceremony which sees the Host City insignia pass from previous hosts Liverpool to Sweden.