Eurovision's Irish entry Bambie Thug fumes 'F*** the EBU' in scathing rant against organisers

Eurovision's Irish entry Bambie Thug fumes 'F*** the EBU' in scathing rant against organisers

Ireland's Eurovision Bambie Thug hit out at organisers on Saturday

Olivia Gantzer

By Olivia Gantzer


Published: 13/05/2024

- 08:04

Updated: 13/05/2024

- 15:17

The Irish singer launched a furious verbal attack on the Eurovision organisers following the event

This year's Eurovision wrapped up on Saturday night with the final of the competition following one of the most controversial build-ups to the show.

Last week saw host city, Malmo in Sweden, flooded with protesters demonstrating against Israel's participation in the competition for its continued military campaign in Gaza.


While UK act Olly Alexander suffered a huge blow by receiving zero points from the public vote, Irish entry Bambie Thug took an impressive sixth place overall.

However, they have since fumed: "F*** the EBU [Eurovision Broadcasting Union]," in an emotional post-competition interview.

The Doomsday Blue singer went on to add they don't fully represent "what Eurovision is".

The Cork-born artist has faced some backlash throughout the competition for their pro-Palestine stance.

Bambie Thug

Bambie Thug fumed 'f*** the EBU'

BBC/CBS

NME reports they had been forced to take out the words "ceasefire" and "freedom for Palestine" in a medieval script from their costume in order to comply with Eurovision's neutrality rules.

According to the publication, a now-deleted TikTok showed Bambie speaking about the decision.

"It's f***ed up," they stated. Now, the artist has made further complaints about the EBU.

Getting emotional, they added: "I'm so proud of Nemo winning. I'm so proud that all of us are in the top 10 that have been fighting for this s*** behind the scenes because it has been so hard and so horrible for us. I’m so proud of us."

Bambie Thug

Bambie Thug took sixth place in Saturday's final

BBC

Speaking after the final on Saturday, they declared: "F*** the EBU. I don’t even care anymore. F*** them. The thing that makes this is the contestants, the community behind it, the love and the power and the support of all of us is what is making change.

"The world has spoken. The queers are coming. Non-binaries for the f***ing win." GB News has contacted the EBU for a response to the remarks.

On the day of the event, Bambie Thug issued a complaint against the Eurovision organisers following comments made by Israeli broadcaster KAN.

The remarks warned viewers to "prepare your curses," and added that Bambie's performance was "the most scary".

Bambie Thug

Bambie Thug has spoken out against the EBU

BBC

It comes as the Netherlands act Joost Klein was banned from the competition just hours before the grand final.

Klein, who entered the competition with the song "Europapa" which appeared to promote the benefits of the European Union, had qualified for the grand final on Thursday evening at the Malmo Arena venue in Sweden.

After he was banned from rehearsals, the EBU released a statement on Saturday announcing Klein had been disqualified from the competition due to a complaint made to the Swedish police.

The EBU responded to Bambie Thug's remarks, stating in a comment to GB News: "We regret that some delegations at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö didn’t respect the spirit of the rules and the competition both onsite and during their broadcasts.

"We spoke to a number of delegations during the event regarding various issues that were brought to our attention.

"The EBU’s governing bodies will, together with the heads of delegations, review the events surrounding the ESC in Malmö to move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone.

"Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting.”

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