Ireland’s Bambie Thug finished in sixth place in the song contest
The search has begun to find Ireland’s entry for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in Basel, Switzerland in May 2025.
RTÉ has issued a call for artists, performers and songwriters with “the talent and ambition to compete and succeed in this highly competitive environment”.
Irish entry Bambie Thug, who represented the country in Malmö earlier this year, achieved Ireland’s best result since 2000 when the artist came sixth.
The country has won the competition seven times, the leading record which has since also been achieved by Sweden.
Acts interested in representing Ireland at the Eurovision can now submit an entry until Monday, November 18, with submissions open for eight weeks.
Entries will be considered by a panel of music and entertainment industry professionals which may also or instead include Eurovision fans selected by RTÉ.
A shortlist may be invited to perform on TV early next year in order to crown a winner.
“Our 2024 entry Bambie Thug bewitched audiences and came sixth at the Eurovision in May in Malmo – it was Ireland’s best result since 2000. Bambie’s song Doomsday Blue has had over 24 million streams to date on Spotify,” said RTÉ’s Eurovision head of delegation Michael Kealy.
“Their performance at the Grand Final has had 9.4 million views on Eurovision’s official You Tube channel.
“Eurovision is an amazing opportunity for any Irish act to catapult themselves onto the world stage. Bambie Thug performed at Electric Picnic in August and is currently on a 30-date tour across Europe with sold out shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Cologne, Helsinki, Dublin and Galway.
“Representing your country and performing at Eurovision is an experience unlike any other and can open doors beyond your imagination. If you think you have what it takes to be our Irish representative in Basel next year we’d love to hear from you.”
Around 163 million people watched the Eurovision this year over three live shows and across 37 public service media markets.
The winner was Nemo from Switzerland, where the next competition will take place next year.
RTÉ described it as an “invaluable opportunity for performers and songwriters to gain exposure on a global scale” and the competitions attracts “top professional talent” from all over the world.