Eurovision 2023: Ireland’s Wild Youth leave it all on stage but fail to make final

Ireland’s Eurovision drought continues after the nation’s entry, Dublin band Wild Youth with their song, We Are One, fell short in the first semi-final of the song contest held in the Liverpool Arena in the city’s docklands.

The band did not secure any of the 10 spots in Saturday’s showpiece final that were up for grabs, as their anthemic indie number failed to cut through amid a group that included several beat-laden dance tracks.

Ireland’s semi-final group included some of the most fancied contenders in this year’s Eurovision. Among those to make it through were Finland, Sweden and Israel.

They will not, however, be joined by the Dublin four-piece of Conor O’Donohoe, David Whelan, Ed Porter and Callum McAdam. Ireland has not made the final since 2018, while it has not lifted the overall title since 1996. Competition favourite Sweden will equal Ireland’s record of seven wins if it goes on to win Saturday’s final.

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Last year’s winners, Ukraine, also go straight through to the final on Saturday. The competition is being hosted in Liverpool due to the war in Ukraine against Russia.

Earlier in the afternoon, the clouds that had been hanging over Merseyside dissipated and the temperature started to rise along with the sense of anticipation as the official kick-off grew nearer. Patriotic Eurovision fans festooned in their national colours streamed into the Albert Dock area. Out on the water, people sunbathed on barges decked out in Union Jacks and also the blue and yellow of Ukraine.

On the southern side of the dock, close to the Liverpool Arena, a large crowd gathered outside a mobile sauna that was in place to promote one of the favourites to win this year’s contest, Finnish rapper Käärijä. His song, Cha Cha Cha, garnered the most attention among international media during rehearsals earlier in the day.

As well as having a catchy tune, Finland’s effort also has the branding to help it capture public attention, critical for garnering the non-jury votes it will need if it is to go all the way on Saturday. Käärijä's neon green stage outfit and the bright pink of his dancers was copied by hordes of fans in the Liverpool crowd, as was his bowler-cut step hairstyle.

Being Britain, there was a Brexit angle. The colour blue was prominent in view closer to the arena – not as branding for any of the national entries, but because pro-European Union campaigners were handing out thousands of the bloc’s flags to passersby.

The Thank EU For The Music campaign group said it plans to have up to 100 campaigners in the area for Saturday’s grand final. “What we really want is for people to see the flags on television,” said Paulo Arrigo, the group’s spokesman.

Local Liverpool man Stephen Incleon, sporting a trumpet, wig and union jack trousers, was planning to attend the semi final in particular to watch Sweden’s highly fancied entry, the dance number Tattoo by past winner Loreen.

“I think they’re going to win. And if it’s not them, it will be Norway,” he said, referring to another of Ireland’s much-fancied opponents in the so-called “semi-final of death”.

Despite the scale of the qualification challenge facing Wild Youth, Eve O’Mahony and Sinead Quinlan from Cork believed the band were capable of going through after seeing them nail a performance in a live rehearsal earlier in the day.

“It’s a tough group, but there’s always hope, always a chance,” said Ms Quinlan.

In advance of their performance, Wild Youth had insisted they were ready for battle as Ireland attempted to qualify for the final for the first time since 2018. Conor O’Donohoe, the group’s lead singer and the song’s co-writer, said Wild Youth were determined to prove they could perform “at the highest level”.

At least the five losing semi-finalists were spared the ignominy of X-Factor style public rejections on the main stage, which were planned by organisers before the idea was abandoned late on Monday.