Eurovision 2024: Ireland and Croatia qualify, but Australia is out

The image featured in this blog post was sourced by Sarah Louise Bennett and provided by EBU.

The song performed by Bambie Thug from Ireland is one of the most peculiar in the competition.

Ireland has finally managed to end its string of bad luck at Eurovision and has made it to the finals after being disqualified since 2018.

It's quite fitting that the song, Doomsday Blue, which is an electro-metal anthem and a potential winner, received assistance from an individual known as a "gremlin goblin witch" - Bambie Thug, the singer.

Some of the other participants who successfully made it to the first semi-final held on Tuesday were Croatia's Baby Lasagna and Finland's Windows95Man. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the most unconventional performances of the year.

In the meantime, event coordinators had to say sorry for a pro-Palestine icon showcased by a performer on Tuesday.

During the opening acts of the show, Eric Saade sported a keffiyeh as an accessory on his arm. This kind of scarf is popular among individuals who wish to express their support for the Palestinian cause.

A representative from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) stated that the Eurovision Song Contest is a television program that airs in real-time.

We inform all participants about the regulations of the competition, and we feel disappointed that Eric Saade opted to violate the apolitical characteristic of the occasion.

Eric Saade got into trouble with Eurovision regulations that prohibit expressing political views.

Before the event that took place at Malmö Arena in Sweden, supporters were advised against bringing any Palestinian flags, emblems or bags into the premises. Rigorous security screening was conducted on all individuals present at the event.

Leading up to the competition, there has been widespread opposition to Israel taking part. Many are worried about the impact of the war on Gaza and its people.

Bambi, an Irish performer, informed the press that they were instructed to eliminate any political symbols from their clothing prior to their semi-final show.

The outfit they wore initially had an old Celtic script called Ogham - which they claimed spelled out "stop fighting" and "autonomy for Palestine".

The Ogham system is an aged Irish writing script, which consists of a chain of symbols engraved on stones. It is considered as the most primitive text of the Irish language that dates back to the 4th century AD.

Bambie stated that it held great significance for her as she advocates for fairness and harmony, but regrettably, she had to alter those ideals due to instructions from the EBU.

Eden Golan, the representative of Israel who is only 21 years old, is said to be staying in her hotel room when not performing. This is due to increased security concerns.

She is going to make her first appearance in the second semi-final on Thursday.

The photo in this blog post is from Sarah Louise Bennett, who works for the European Broadcasting Union.

The semi-final of the competition featured a performance from Olly Alexander, a participant from the United Kingdom.

The disagreement among politicians did not take away from the excitement of Tuesday's first semi-final, which featured 18 performances. One of the performers was Olly Alexander, representing the United Kingdom. He has publicly stated that he wants peace in Gaza, but he did not join in calls to avoid participating in the competition.

The vocalist delivered a high-powered rendition of his synth-pop track titled "Dizzy", incorporating camera tricks and complex movements that gave the impression of him being on-board a spacecraft that was heading towards the planet.

Wearing a white tank top, red pants, and worn-out boots, he danced with such intensity that his microphone's battery pack fell off his outfit. He was observed holding onto it with his right hand during the last part of the show.

Despite the accident, the United Kingdom did not need to be concerned about the Tuesday's public election. This country is among the five that are automatically eligible for the final competition, as it has made a financial contribution to the event.

Sweden, who won the title last year, will also receive automatic qualification.

Who Made It Through The First Semi-final?

Here are the 10 performers who won the public vote on Tuesday:

Moldova, Iceland, Australia, Poland and Azerbaijan were the countries that headed back to their respective homes.

Iceland's Hera Björk and Moldova's Natalia Burdu were surprised by the outcome.

They were both participants in the past Eurovision contest and had expectations of taking advantage of their connection with the event. They also wanted to try and surpass their previous rankings in the competition.

The picture is obtained from Getty Images. Reworded: The source of the image is credited to Getty Images.

The top pick to take home the prize in the competition is Croatia's Baby Lasagna.

At the moment, Croatia's infant lasagna is the top pick, and they easily advanced to the semi-finals with the entertaining and silly tune, Rim Tim Tagi Dim.

The tune narrates the tale of a countryside lad on his way to the urban metropolis (a line from the song goes like this, "I'm grown-up now and I got rid of my cattle") - and it supposedly discusses the negative impact of Croatia's emigration of skilled workers.

An equally amusing act is Windows95Man from Finland. During his performance, he " debates" with the Eurovision officials about whether or not he can perform without any pants.

A famous performance artist and DJ, he utilizes different objects on stage to hide his nudity, ultimately putting on a pair of denim shorts with success during the peak of the song.

The photograph was taken by Corinne Cumming of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). --- Free English: The picture came from the EBU and was taken by Corinne Cumming.

Tali rejoiced her triumph in the green area of the competition.

Luxembourg finally came back to Eurovision after being absent for 31 years.

The nation, who has emerged victorious five times, withdrew from the event following their disqualification during the 1994 competition and opposed all efforts to entice them to return... Until this moment.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of their previous victory, they participated in the sleek and catchy pop song Fighter, which was performed by a young artist named Tali Golergant. As a result, they successfully advanced to the final round.

Ireland is likely to be very pleased with their achievement. They have won the Eurovision seven times, which is equal to Sweden's record, making them both the most successful countries in the contest's history. However, in the past ten competitions, Ireland has been unable to qualify on eight occasions.

Some priests in a mostly Catholic country criticized the choice to feature Bambie Thug, a non-binary musician whose song explores the occult. Nevertheless, the imaginative presentation and unexpected blend of different types of music have garnered a great deal of admiration from enthusiasts.

Bambie shared with BBC that she desired to exhibit every aspect of her personality, including spoken word poetry, singing, jazzy crooning, metal, and screaming, and she managed to incorporate them all into her performance.

The initial semi-final revolved around the concept that being victorious in the competition is not the only way to achieve success.

Therefore, the event coordinators invited a few of the most well-known runners-up from past competitions. This included Eleni Foureira, who represented Cyprus in 2018, Eric Saade, who represented Sweden in 2001, and Chanel, who represented Spain in 2022. All three have since achieved great success on a global scale.

The three performers kicked off the event by combining their Eurovision songs into a medley. Later on, Benjamin Ingrosso from Sweden made a comeback during the break.

The vocalist achieved the seventh position in the competition that occurred in 2018. It's a decent rank but may seem low if you belong to the leading Eurovision participant in Europe.

According to Ingrosso, being in the bottom five in Sweden is considered the worst possibility, which means that he felt like a letdown. This was revealed during an interview with the Eurovision Song Contest podcast.

Although he faced embarrassment, his professional journey has been flourishing, and his slinky pop track "Kite" became a sensation with millions of views online.

The picture used in this post is from the website Getty Images.

Johnny Logan was victorious on three separate occasions in the Eurovision contest. He secured two wins as a participant, and the third as a songwriter for Linda Martin's top-performing entry, Why Me, which was the champion in 1992.

The true standout of the intermission performance was Johnny Logan from Ireland.

The singer achieved a rare feat of winning Eurovision twice, being the only person to do so. The songs that helped him achieve this milestone were What's Another Year in 1980 and Hold Me Now in 1987.

He journeyed to Malmö to pay his respects to Loreen, a renowned Swedish pop singer. Loreen had matched his achievement of winning Eurovision twice in the previous year.

He performed a grand and rich rendition of her 2012 song Euphoria, accompanied by a full orchestra.

He has spoken highly of Ireland's entry in private, specifically referring to Bambie Thug as a possible champion.

According to an interview he gave to the Sunday World newspaper in Ireland, one common practice in the Eurovision Song Contest is that people tend to imitate the previous year's winning entry as they believe it holds the key to success.

This year's Irish participant stands out as exceptional. In my memory, it is the most impressive and unique entry that Ireland has presented.

On Sunday night's grand final of Eurovision, the determination of whether he's accurate or not will be in the hands of the viewers.

However, before the final, there is another semi-final on Thursday.

In that place, a total of 16 performances will be showcased with only 10 getting the opportunity to proceed further. Among the participants are popular performers from Finland (Nemo), Israel (Eden Golan), and Greece (Marina Satti).

The coastal city of Malmö in Sweden is playing host to the competition.

After Liverpool hosted last year's competition for Ukraine, who couldn't organize it because of the ongoing conflict with Russia, this year's host city is upholding the tradition.