Bambie Thug accuses Eurovision organisers of “not supporting them” amidst Israel commentator controversy

Bambie Thug, this year’s Irish Eurovision entry, has announced a 2024 UK and European ‘Crown The Witch’ tour.Bambie, who placed 6th in this year’s competition with their showstopping performance of ‘Doomsday Blue’, is now set to tour around the UK and Europe.They will kick off at Brighton’s Chalk in August, before making their way through Manchester’s Gorilla, Glasgow’s King Tuts and London’s Heaven in September. Bambie is also due to visit cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm.

Eurovision‘s Israel team have accused its competitors of “an unprecedented display of hatred”.This year’s competition was dogged by controversy, including criticism towards the EBU’s decision to include Israel amongst their role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. 20-year-old Eden Golan, this year’s entry, faced boos during her performance at the finale.

Soft Play – FKA Slaves – have dropped out of the Great Escape Festival in solidarity with Palestine.The 2024 edition of the event – which showcases new and rising artists – is currently being held across various music venues in Brighton until Saturday (May 18).The Great Escape is sponsored by Barclays, which has been a source of controversy amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza because of the bank’s financial investment in companies that supply arms to Israel with over 35,000 Palestinians killed since the October 7 attacks. Over 100 acts have now dropped out of this year’s event with Soft Play, who were due to perform at The Paris House on Saturday, becoming the latest.Posting on Instagram, they wrote: “We will not be playing at the great escape this weekend.

Eurovision bosses of handing a “win” to “enemies of Europe” with the decision to ban EU flags at the 2024 final.News broke earlier this year that the song contest would be banning any flags being held up other than those of the countries competing in the competition. This included the show of Palestinian flags – amid the conflict in Gaza – and EU flags.Now, speaking with Politico’s Brussels Playbook after Saturday’s finale (May 11), Schinas has described the move as “mind-blowing”, and criticised it as being ill-timed given next month’s European election and amid thousands of Georgian protesters gathering in Tbilisi in support of the democratic values the EU represents.“I cannot find the logical explanation for why the EBU is doing this.

Eurovision ratings have apparently plunged amidst several controversies and boycott calls for this year’s edition.This year, the contest has faced criticism for its inclusion of Israel due to their role in the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. Due to this political neutrality clause, the EBU announced they reserved the right to remove Palestinian flags and symbols, and would go on to censor Irish contestant Bambie Thug for wearing the word ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ as a hidden message on their costume.Israel’s inclusion prompted boycott calls from the LGBT+ community towards UK entry Olly Alexander, reasoning that the competition was “providing cultural cover and endorsement for the catastrophic violence that Israel has unleashed on Palestinians.”Over 1,000 Swedish artists called for Israel to be banned this year – including Robyn, Fever Ray, and First Aid Kit – and more than 1,400 Finnish music industry professionals have signed a petition to ban the country from taking part in the contest as well.

Bambie Thug has given an update on their Eurovision complaint, claiming that the EBU confirmed Israli broadcaster KAN had “broken the rules of conduct”.Earlier today, it was reported that the Irish Eurovision entry lodged a complaint with the Eurovision organisers due to commentary made by a broadcaster on KAN. The comments, which told viewers to “prepare your curses” and claim Bambie’s performance was “the most scary” of the night, were labelled “in breach of the rules” of the EBU by Bambie.Now, the Cork singer has taken to their social media to claim that the EBU “confirmed” KAN had breached the rules, which “contradicts” a statement they had seen from the EBU Director General Noel Curran.“Over the last few days I have raised multiple complaints to the EBU regarding instances I have experienced this week.

Bambie Thug has given a special message at the end of their gripping Eurovision performance – watch it below.The Irish Eurovision entry has been tipped as one of the favourites to win this year, with them ranking fourth on the bookie’s odds to win the contest.However, the Cork singer has also faced significant challenges throughout the competition due to their pro-Palestinian stance. It was revealed they were forced to remove the words ‘ceasefire’ and ‘freedom for Palestine’ in a medieval script from their costume due to Eurovision’s political neutrality clause.Though they were prevented from saying the words ‘ceasefire’, Bambie seemed to allude to the Israel-Palestine conflict at the end of their powerful performance.

Eurovision entrant was booed during her live performance on the show last night, while other parts of the audience reacted with cheers.The 68th Eurovision Song Contest took place last night (May 11) in Malmö, Sweden, and was won by Switzerland’s Nemo, whose song ‘The Code’ won the jury vote and came fifth in the public vote.Israel’s entry ‘Hurricane’ by Eden Golan did not score high with the jury, but received one of the highest scores in the public vote. Her performance came early in the night, and was met with a decidedly mixed reaction from the live audience.As fan footage from inside the room appears to show, there was a somewhat negative reaction from parts of the audience during Golan’s rendition of her song, with cries of “Free Palestine” being audible.

Switzerland has won the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place Saturday evening in Malmo, Sweden.

Ireland's very own Bambie Thug delivered a powerful six-word mantra following their Eurovision Song Contest performance. After wowing the audience with an electrifying rendition of "Doomsday Blue," complete with enchanting witchcraft visuals, Bambie Thug made sure their message was heard loud and clear. As the final note echoed and the camera closed in, Bambie Thug proclaimed: "Love will always win over hate! " The performance left fans ecstatic, prompting a flurry of support on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

As music lovers around the world tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest’ s grand final on Saturday night, all eyes were on the 25 acts that were hoping to secure victory. Initially 26 countries had been due to compete, but following a controversial decision by the European Broadcasting Union to ban Dutch entrant Joost Klein, only 25 made it to the stage on Saturday evening.

Bambie Thug has reportedly raised a complaint with Eurovision organisers due to Israeli broadcaster KAN’s commentary on their performance.An interview with broadcaster RTÉ has revealed that the Irish Eurovision entry raised the complaint with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) over remarks KAN made about them. On Tuesday, a commentator on KAN, warned TV viewers with children that Bambie Thug’s performance would be “the most scary” of the night.The commentator also said there would be “a lot of spells and black magic and dark clothing, Satanic symbols, and voodoo dolls, like we are at Cat’s Square in Jerusalem in the mid-90s” (Cat’s Square is a square well known for the city’s nightlife in the 90s and associated with goth culture).The KAN broadcaster further claimed there was “some controversy” in Ireland about Bambie’s song ‘Doomsday Blue’, referencing a petition to disqualify the song, and further alleged Thug liked to “speak negatively about Israel”.

The Independent. A snippet of the interview was shared to X, showing Thug wearing a keffiyeh scarf and fighting back tears.

The fate of The Netherlands’ Eurovision entry lies in the balance, after the Dutch representative failed to perform in Friday evening’s jury final.

Bambie Thug has called on Eurovision organisers to “show some humanity” over its handling of political issues as controversy related to Israel’s inclusion continues.The conversation around this year’s edition of the singing competition has been dominated by the controversial decision not to ban Israel from the contest despite the ongoing situation in Gaza, with many fans vowing to boycott Eurovision this year as a result.Israel is being represented by Eden Golan with the song ‘Hurricane’. Her qualification into the final came shortly after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the streets of Malmö, Sweden, where the contest is being held, to show their support for Gaza.

Olly Alexander has responded to his odds of winning the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest.The singer revealed to BBC that he had taken a look at what the bookies were saying about his chances of winning the contest. “My odds for winning are at one per cent,” he told the outlet.

Eurovision 2024 entrant Joost Klein has been placed under investigation by the contest’s organisers due to an unexplained “incident”.The singer was not allowed to perform his song ‘Europapa’ during the final dress rehearsal in Malmö, Sweden on Friday (May 10), and it is currently unknown whether he will be able to perform in the grand final on Saturday (May 11).The European Broadcasting Union said in a statement: “We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.“We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course.”Klein’s most recent public appearance was during the flag parade at the start of the Friday rehearsal, but he did not appear during his performance slot approximately 30 minutes later.Klein is scheduled to perform in the fifth slot in the ceremony, one place before Israel’s Eden Golan.

With mere hours left to go until the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway on Saturday evening, the annual musical extravaganza has been thrown into chaos following an incident involving Dutch act Joost Klein.The performer, who qualified for the grand final earlier this week with his song Europapa, was “pulled” from rehearsing for tomorrow’s show “until further notice.” In a statement to the PA news agency, the European Broadcasting Union who televise the show said: "We are currently investigating an incident that was reported to us involving the Dutch artist. He will not be rehearsing until further notice.” "We have no further comment at this time and will update in due course." In preparation for the grand final, all 26 competitors have been taking part in a dress rehearsal ahead of the performance, however while Joost did appear during the Flag Parade, he didn’t perform his song Europapa when the time came.

Eurovision final following days of protests in support of Gaza.Eden Golan, Israel’s entrant in the songwriting competition, qualified for the final following a public vote. Her win into the final came shortly after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the streets of Malmö, Sweden, where the contest is being held, to show their support for Gaza.The singer was booed during dress rehearsals and was booed again, this time with a mix of cheering as well, during the semi-finals on Thursday (May 9).

After a year of waiting, it’s finally time to get out the fancy dress, put on a party playlist and rustle up some delicious snacks and celebrate this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.Taking place on Saturday, 11 May in Malmö, Sweden, the event is set to be one to remember as Olly Alexander hopes to become the UK’s first winner since Katrina and the Waves in 1997. However, it’s not just Olly who’s got people talking. Contestant Bambie Thug made history earlier this week when they became the first Irish Eurovision Song Contest finalist since 2018.