Road to Liverpool: Ireland

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: Ireland.

Wild Youth

The national final in Ireland was won by Wild Youth. They sang the song “We are one”, which is written and composed by Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter and Jörgen Elofsson. 

Wild Youth was formed in Dublin in 2016. The band exists of David Whelan, Conor O’Donohoe, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam. In 2017 they released their first single “All or nothing“. In 2019 they released their first album “The last goodbye”. The band toured through Ireland and the United Kingdom. Last year, they opened for Lewis Capaldi on his concerts. At the same time their song “Live without you” was a hit. In 2023 they won, as said, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Public Image Ltd.

Ireland has chosen the song through a national final called Eurosong 2023. The competition was part of the show the Late Late Show. A total of six artists and songs participated. One of the participants was a very remarkable one: the band PIL. They sang the song “Hawaii“. They became 4th. PIL (Public Image Limited) is not new to the audience. The band already had a big hit in 1983, “This is not a love song“, and “Rise” in 1984. Singer John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, also was the singer of punk band The Sex Pistols.

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest

In 1965 Ireland debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest. They only had to wait until 1970 before Dana took the prize for the green island. The 2nd, 3rd ánd 4th victory were for mr. Eurovision himself, Johnny Logan. He sang the songs in 1980 and 1987 himself, while he composed the song for Linda Martin in 1992. That was the start of a long row of Irish victories: Niamh Kavanagh in 1993, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan in 1994 and Eimear Quinn in 1996. Oh, and let’s not forget 1995: Norway won, but the group Secret Garden was led by the Irish violinist Fionualla Sherry. Anyway, Ireland holds the record of 7 (!!!) victories. The last few years were not so succesful for Ireland. Since 2014, only one contestant (Ryan O’Shaugnessy in 2018) reached the final.

Bookmakers

Currently, Ireland is number 23 in the betting odds. That would mean a place in the final this year. The Irish will probably be happy with a result like that.

The song

And of course, here is the song:

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Eurovision 2026

Vienna 12 points: from a huge table to 7,000 crystals

  Day four of first rehearsals at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is underway in Vienna. The final eight countries of Semi-Final 2 step onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage for the very first time today, Tuesday 5 May. First rehearsals remain closed to press; three approved images per country will be published approximately 24 hours after each performance. The official Eurovision subreddit is providing live descriptions throughout the day. Eurovision Universe sought additional detail through national broadcaster coverage, social media, and press reports. All five countries below compete in Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, May 14. 🇨🇾 Cyprus — Antigoni, “Jalla” Running order: 8 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:00–09:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May Antigoni has been promising she would dance on the table. This morning at the Wiener Stadthalle she delivered  in a way nobody quite anticipated. The centrepiece of the staging is a table of extraordinary scale: large enough for all four dancers to join Antigoni on top of it, large enough to function as a full catwalk, and large enough that the chairs do not go beside it but on it. This choreography is tight and deliberate. The dancers even work with plates. And the whole setup directly brings to life the song’s most iconic lyric. It is a reference with Eurovision history behind it: Ivi Adamou danced on a table for Cyprus at Baku 2012, but the 2026 version operates on an entirely different scale. The table itself has a table runner made from an LED strip, which comes into its own during the “you want more?” section of the song. From there, Antigoni steps off the table and onto the catwalk with a purposeful strut, before the staging closes out with fire and pyrotechnics more commonly associated with rock entries than Mediterranean pop. The backdrop features giant ancient pillars lit in blue. Antigoni wears a short white beaded dress. Staging is by Sacha Jean-Baptiste, whose Eurovision credits include “Fuego” (Cyprus 2018) and the 2023 winner “Tattoo” for Sweden. Antigoni Buxton, 29, is a British-Cypriot singer-songwriter from North London who gained wider recognition after Love Island UK in 2022. CyBC selected her internally in November 2025. “Jalla”, meaning “more” in the Cypriot dialect, was co-written with Charalambous Kallona, Connor Mullally-Knight, Demetris Nikolaou, Claydee, Paris Kalpos, and Trey Qua. Cyprus competes 8th in Semi-Final 2. Sources: r/eurovision live thread / CyBC / Eurovoix / Instagram @antigoni 🇱🇻 Latvia — Atvara, “Ēnā” Running order: 9 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:40–10:10 CEST | Second rehearsal: 8 May Latvia’s first Vienna rehearsal delivers a scaled-up version of the performance that won Supernova 2026 in February. If the subreddit’s reporters are to be believed, it translates powerfully to the larger Wiener Stadthalle stage. Atvara completed three full run-throughs of “Ēnā.” The core concept remains unchanged: an intimate, atmospheric performance built around the song’s cinematic ballad structure and Atvara’s vocal. What has changed is the detail. Atvara is wearing a newly designed gown decorated with sparkling stones. They now extend further down the side and along her left arm. Speaking to Latvian broadcaster LSM ahead of Vienna, Atvara confirmed that the team had worked to adapt the Supernova concept to the Eurovision scale. They refined technical elements while leaving the core performance intact. Her stylist Inna Bertāne described the new dress in Latvian press as a deliberate step up. Atvara rose to prominence on TikTok via her debut single “Pie Manis Tveries” and later sold out 22 solo shows in Latvia in 2025. She won Supernova on 14 February, taking both the jury and public votes. Latvia competes 9th in Semi-Final 1. Sources: LSM / Supernova / Latvian Radio / Instagram @atvara.liene 🇩🇰 Denmark — Søren Torpegaard Lund, “Før vi går hjem” Running order: 10 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 10:20–10:50 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May The Melodi Grand Prix staging has arrived in Vienna completely intact, and apparently quite literally so. The box that defined Søren’s breakthrough performance in Frederikshavn was not dismantled and rebuilt for the Wiener Stadthalle; it was shipped as-is. When something works that well, you don’t take risks with it. That said, what is inside the box has been elevated for Eurovision. Søren opens in black leather trousers and an aquamarine silk chiffon shirt, before ripping it off mid-performance. The singer than reveals a sparkly black mesh top underneath. The outfit reveal lands as a proper moment. Inside the box, red tube lights illuminate and intensify as the performance builds, so that by the second chorus the whole structure is radiating heat, matching the choreography. This has been noticeably scaled up from the national final, particularly the thrusting during the first verse. When Søren finally steps out of the box towards the end of the song, a storm takes over the stage floor and the backdrop behind him. The respite is brief: the graphics transform into blazing fire for the final twenty seconds.  Søren Torpegaard Lund, 27, is a trained musical theatre actor who graduated from the Danish Stage Arts School and played Tony in West Side Story at the Copenhagen Opera House in 2021–22. He co-wrote “Før vi går hjem” with Clara Sofie Fabricius, Thomas Meilstrup, and Valdemar Littauer Bendixen, winning Melodi Grand Prix on 14 February with both the jury and public votes. Denmark competes 10th in Semi-Final 2. Sources: r/eurovision live thread / DR / ESC Insight / Instagram @sorentorpegaardlund 🇦🇺 Australia — Delta Goodrem, “Eclipse” Running order: 11 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 11:00–11:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May The biggest name in this year’s contest steps onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage and, by all accounts, does not disappoint. Delta Goodrem’s first Vienna rehearsal for “Eclipse” is a significant production. The staging is developed by Black Skull Creative, the team behind the entire Liverpool 2023 contest, alongside creative director Paul Clarke. It is described as one of the most technically ambitious performances in Vienna this year. The concept tracks a journey from a moon world into a sun world, culminating in a

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Eurovision 2026
Martijn

Vienna 12 points: from a huge table to 7,000 crystals

  Day four of first rehearsals at the 70th Eurovision Song Contest is underway in Vienna. The final eight countries of Semi-Final 2 step onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage for the very first time today, Tuesday 5 May. First rehearsals remain closed to press; three approved images per country will be published approximately 24 hours after each performance. The official Eurovision subreddit is providing live descriptions throughout the day. Eurovision Universe sought additional detail through national broadcaster coverage, social media, and press reports. All five countries below compete in Semi-Final 2 on Thursday, May 14. 🇨🇾 Cyprus — Antigoni, “Jalla” Running order: 8 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:00–09:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May Antigoni has been promising she would dance on the table. This morning at the Wiener Stadthalle she delivered  in a way nobody quite anticipated. The centrepiece of the staging is a table of extraordinary scale: large enough for all four dancers to join Antigoni on top of it, large enough to function as a full catwalk, and large enough that the chairs do not go beside it but on it. This choreography is tight and deliberate. The dancers even work with plates. And the whole setup directly brings to life the song’s most iconic lyric. It is a reference with Eurovision history behind it: Ivi Adamou danced on a table for Cyprus at Baku 2012, but the 2026 version operates on an entirely different scale. The table itself has a table runner made from an LED strip, which comes into its own during the “you want more?” section of the song. From there, Antigoni steps off the table and onto the catwalk with a purposeful strut, before the staging closes out with fire and pyrotechnics more commonly associated with rock entries than Mediterranean pop. The backdrop features giant ancient pillars lit in blue. Antigoni wears a short white beaded dress. Staging is by Sacha Jean-Baptiste, whose Eurovision credits include “Fuego” (Cyprus 2018) and the 2023 winner “Tattoo” for Sweden. Antigoni Buxton, 29, is a British-Cypriot singer-songwriter from North London who gained wider recognition after Love Island UK in 2022. CyBC selected her internally in November 2025. “Jalla”, meaning “more” in the Cypriot dialect, was co-written with Charalambous Kallona, Connor Mullally-Knight, Demetris Nikolaou, Claydee, Paris Kalpos, and Trey Qua. Cyprus competes 8th in Semi-Final 2. Sources: r/eurovision live thread / CyBC / Eurovoix / Instagram @antigoni 🇱🇻 Latvia — Atvara, “Ēnā” Running order: 9 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 09:40–10:10 CEST | Second rehearsal: 8 May Latvia’s first Vienna rehearsal delivers a scaled-up version of the performance that won Supernova 2026 in February. If the subreddit’s reporters are to be believed, it translates powerfully to the larger Wiener Stadthalle stage. Atvara completed three full run-throughs of “Ēnā.” The core concept remains unchanged: an intimate, atmospheric performance built around the song’s cinematic ballad structure and Atvara’s vocal. What has changed is the detail. Atvara is wearing a newly designed gown decorated with sparkling stones. They now extend further down the side and along her left arm. Speaking to Latvian broadcaster LSM ahead of Vienna, Atvara confirmed that the team had worked to adapt the Supernova concept to the Eurovision scale. They refined technical elements while leaving the core performance intact. Her stylist Inna Bertāne described the new dress in Latvian press as a deliberate step up. Atvara rose to prominence on TikTok via her debut single “Pie Manis Tveries” and later sold out 22 solo shows in Latvia in 2025. She won Supernova on 14 February, taking both the jury and public votes. Latvia competes 9th in Semi-Final 1. Sources: LSM / Supernova / Latvian Radio / Instagram @atvara.liene 🇩🇰 Denmark — Søren Torpegaard Lund, “Før vi går hjem” Running order: 10 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 10:20–10:50 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May The Melodi Grand Prix staging has arrived in Vienna completely intact, and apparently quite literally so. The box that defined Søren’s breakthrough performance in Frederikshavn was not dismantled and rebuilt for the Wiener Stadthalle; it was shipped as-is. When something works that well, you don’t take risks with it. That said, what is inside the box has been elevated for Eurovision. Søren opens in black leather trousers and an aquamarine silk chiffon shirt, before ripping it off mid-performance. The singer than reveals a sparkly black mesh top underneath. The outfit reveal lands as a proper moment. Inside the box, red tube lights illuminate and intensify as the performance builds, so that by the second chorus the whole structure is radiating heat, matching the choreography. This has been noticeably scaled up from the national final, particularly the thrusting during the first verse. When Søren finally steps out of the box towards the end of the song, a storm takes over the stage floor and the backdrop behind him. The respite is brief: the graphics transform into blazing fire for the final twenty seconds.  Søren Torpegaard Lund, 27, is a trained musical theatre actor who graduated from the Danish Stage Arts School and played Tony in West Side Story at the Copenhagen Opera House in 2021–22. He co-wrote “Før vi går hjem” with Clara Sofie Fabricius, Thomas Meilstrup, and Valdemar Littauer Bendixen, winning Melodi Grand Prix on 14 February with both the jury and public votes. Denmark competes 10th in Semi-Final 2. Sources: r/eurovision live thread / DR / ESC Insight / Instagram @sorentorpegaardlund 🇦🇺 Australia — Delta Goodrem, “Eclipse” Running order: 11 | Rehearsal: 5 May, 11:00–11:30 CEST | Second rehearsal: 9 May The biggest name in this year’s contest steps onto the Wiener Stadthalle stage and, by all accounts, does not disappoint. Delta Goodrem’s first Vienna rehearsal for “Eclipse” is a significant production. The staging is developed by Black Skull Creative, the team behind the entire Liverpool 2023 contest, alongside creative director Paul Clarke. It is described as one of the most technically ambitious performances in Vienna this year. The concept tracks a journey from a moon world into a sun world, culminating in a

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