Life is about to get a little sparklier as the Eurovision Song Contest returns after Covid forced the cancellation of last years event. This is, of course, a very different Eurovision from the seven at which Irish singers Dana, Johnny Logan and Linda Martin among them triumphed.
Spanning the continent and beyond Australia has been a contestant since 2015 Eurovision features 39 countries and a dizzying variety of styles. Pop, rock, power ballads and Ed Sheeran-type bloke folk will all be in the mix as 200 million viewers tune in.
In the past decade or so our best result has been finishing eighth, back in 2011, when Jedward sang Lipstick. The harsh truth is that many of us would be thrilled if Ireland simply qualified for the final. Heres everything you need to know about this weeks Eurovision events.
When and where does it take place?Eurovision 2021 kicks off on Tuesday, May 18th, at Rotterdams Ahoy Arena, where 17 of the competing countries compete in the first semi-final. On Thursday, 18 countries compete in the second semi-final. The 10 top-ranked countries from each semi-final go through to Saturdays final. They are joined by the big five of Spain, the UK, France, Germany and Italy who qualify automatically because their national broadcasters underwrite the costs of staging the contest and by the Netherlands, which, as host nation, also gets a bye into the final. The semi-finals will be on RTÉ2 and the final on RTÉ One, all starting at 8pm, with Marty Whelan commentating. Alternatively the semis are also showing on BBC4, with Graham Norton doing the honours on the final on BBC1.
Whos representing Ireland?Irelands entrant is Lesley Roy, a singer and songwriter from Balbriggan, Co Dublin. Born in 1986, she has worked with the superproducer Max Martin and written for artists such as Adam Lambert and Jana Kramer. Roy was chosen to sing for Ireland at Eurovision 2020 with Story of My Life. For 2021 she decided to write a new song, Maps, which debuted on The Late Late Show in February. She hopes to be the first Irish contestant to reach the final since Ryan OShaughnessy, in 2018, and only the second since Ryan Dolan, in 2013. She will perform seventh on Tuesday night, after Australia and North Macedonia.
