The Irish national broadcaster invested approximately €400,000 in Bambie Thug’s participation in Eurovision 2024, a high amount compared to other countries.
Bambie Thug, Ireland’s representative at Eurovision 2024, brought the country back to the Grand Final for the first time since 2018 with an impressive result, finishing in sixth place. The cost of this achievement has now been revealed to be approximately €400,000. This amount funded a large delegation of 21 people, some of whom stayed in Malmö for a full 16 days.
Bambie Thug themselves, their dancer Matt Williams, the delegation’s makeup artist Amy Heany, and the head of delegation Michael Kealy all flew to Malmö on April 26, 15 days before the Grand Final. Others, including commentator Marty Whelan, arrived on May 4, three days before the semi-final in which Ireland competed. The entire delegation returned to the country on May 12, the day after the Grand Final, with accommodation costs in Malmö totaling €61,927.
The flights for Bambie Thug and their delegation were in economy class and cost €7,087. Ground transportation expenses amounted to €2,745, with total transportation costs reaching €13,694.
The participation fee to the EBU was €101,090, a mandatory payment set by the EBU to secure broadcasting rights for the two semi-finals and the Grand Final of Eurovision. In addition to this, Ireland spent €73,438 on production and a further €1,438 on an unclear item labeled “representation.” The total expenses for Ireland at Eurovision amounted to €389,999, averaging €4,100 per delegation member.
In recent days, the Irish national broadcaster RTÉ announced a significant budget cut, which has sparked outrage over the high expenses of the Irish delegation at Eurovision.
For comparison, the Spanish delegation for Eurovision 2024 spent €595,000 on its participation. However, when examining each expense item separately, it is evident that the Spanish delegation managed its budget more frugally than the Irish delegation. This is particularly noteworthy because the participation fees for a large country like Spain are significantly higher and constitute more than 50% of the total budget.
Ireland in Eurovision 2024
Bambie Thug represented Ireland at Eurovision 2024 with the song “Doomsday Blue.” The song was chosen through the national pre-selection. Ireland advanced to the final after placing third in the first semi-final with 124 points, and in the grand final, they finished sixth with 278 points.
This marks the first time since 2018 that Ireland has qualified for the final, and it is the country’s best result since 2000.
Source: irishmirror.ie
Eurovision 2025: This will be Ireland’s 58th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ireland joined the competition in 1965 and has won it seven times over the years, holding the record for most wins alongside Sweden. Ireland’s last victory was in Eurovision 1996 with the song “The Voice” performed by singer Eimear Quinn.
