The OGAE Ireland Sweepstakes are returning for a second year, to raise money for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – and guess what – they’re open NOW!

Last year, we had incredible success with our inaugural sweepstakes, where €1,000 was raised for Doctors Without Borders – an incredible effort by our members, which was guaranteed to make a huge difference to those who need their support.

After the success of last year, it was only right to get the Sweepstakes up and running for another edition – and we can’t wait to see it all unfold!

For those of you who haven’t a clue what I’m talking about right now, or just need a refresher, here’s a quick explainer:

After you pay for your entry, you’ll receive two random countries via email, one each from two pots – the first pot contains the countries in the top half of the odds, while the second pot contains the countries in the bottom half of the odds.

These pots have been determined already, based on the odds as of 11pm on Thursday March 27th, so as to maintain fairness and transparency.

The aim of the sweepstakes is simple – collect the most (or least) amount of points possible, and win!

I include “the least” in that sentence because there will also be a prize for the person who gets the LEAST number of points – so anyone truly has a chance!

Scoring:

If a country qualifies to the Grand Final, that’s great news for you – as you will collect the total amount of points that they earn in the Grand Final.

If a country fails to qualify to the Grand Final, don’t fret – you’ll still get some points awarded to you. For this, it will depend on the country’s placement in the bottom places. Since there are 15 countries in Semi Final 1, and 16 countries in Semi Final 2, this will work slightly differently, but it’s easy to understand – here’s the maximum amount of points the country can earn based on their placement:

• 11th place: 25 points
• 12th place: 20 points
• 13th place: 15 points
• 14th place: 10 points
• 15th place in Semi Final 2: 5 points
• Last place (15th place in Semi Final 1, 16th place in Semi Final 2): 0 points

However, if the country receives higher than this amount, they will be awarded the lower amount of points. And if they receive less than the maximum amount possible, they will receive the lower amount.

For example, if the country comes 11^th and receives 34 points, it is over the maximum amount of points that can be earned, and therefore you get 25 points.

HOWEVER, IF YOUR COUNTRY COMES 11^TH, AND GETS 19 POINTS, THE LOWER OPTION OF 19 POINTS IS AWARDED.

Who wins?

The person to score the highest amount of combined points will WIN!

Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and LAST place – so even if you do terribly, you could still win something!

FYI – the prizes are actually very good – so it is totally worth your while to enter!

So what are you waiting for? Enter the Sweepstakes NOW and give money to an incredible cause!

Ireland is to perform in 3rd position in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2025!

It comes as Eurovision organisers have unveiled the full running orders of the two semi-finals this evening.

Emmy, with the song ‘Laika Party’, will perform after Montenegro’s Nina Žižić, with Latvia’s Tautumeitas taking to the stage following Ireland’s three-minute performance.

Ireland is one of 16 countries that will participate in the second semi-final, vying for one of ten places in the Grand Final on Saturday May 17th.

As well as the 16 semi-finalists, three of the ‘Big 5’ countries who have already gained a spot in the Grand Final – United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Italy, Spain and host country Switzerland will perform during the first semi-final – with the running order for the 15-country semi-final also revealed.

The second semi-final, where Ireland will be hoping to gain one of 10 spots in the Grand Final, will take place on Thursday May 15th at 8pm Irish time at St. Jakobshalle in Basel.

As we count down to Eurovision 2025, it’s the best time to get caught up on who’s who this year, and what the general vibe is for each country’s entry.

In a series of pieces for OGAE Ireland, member Ciarán O’Driscoll checks out each country’s entry, giving his verdict on its chances:

Should we toot or boot this year’s song compared to what they sent last year? Is it meh or magnificent compared to Malmö? My own handrailing-lacking sense of judgement will guide us here, as we sprint through the entries. These views should, of course, not be taken seriously (at all) and best ignored in their entirety.

Belgium

Last year Belgium sent Mustii with “Before the Party’s Over”, a dark, soulful pop song, it had impressive vocals. However, the fantastic final choir and blast of James Bond-esque brass was not enough to save this song from taking fartoo long to get where it needed to be. It failed to make it to the final, placing 13^th out of 16 in the semi-final.

This year, Seppe Guido Yvonne Herreman, aka electro-pop singer Red Sebastian, will be singing “Strobe Lights” for Belgium. His stage-name (since 2019) is inspired by the red Jamaican-accented singing crab, Sebastian, from the Disney’s 1989 film, The Little Mermaid.

His song holds your attention throughout, building with an addictive electro-club beat, as he leaps impressively through his singing abilities. Some clever staging and camera angles here will see it soar like Red Sebastian’s falsetto vocals.

Better than before: Absolutely! There’s no hanging about here with this song to get off the ground.

Finland

There was endless hilarity with Windows95man’s “No Rules!” at Malmö last year. Although it went as big as the egg that Windos95man emerged from, it didn’t land with viewers, placing 19^th in the final with 38 points.

This year, Finland are sending Erika Vikman and her song “Ich komme” (“I’m coming” in German). A pop star in her native Finland, she has had chart topping songs, including 2024’s “Ruoska” with Käärijä, and came 2^nd in UMK 2020 with “Cicciolina”.

“Ich komme”, for me, is the only entry so far of 2025 that has winner linked to it. It’s a fun upbeat Euro-dance anthem, that leaves any subtleness at the cloakroom. One of the final lyrics is (in Finnish) “…and when you want more love, just shout: ‘Encore!’ and baby I’m coming.” Vikman will have the whole arena at Basel shouting “ICH KOMME, ICH KOMME!” and I can’t wait for it.

Better than before? Without a doubt, its Wunderbar!

Ireland

The only other thing better about Bambie Thug’s phenomenal performance last year is that they are from Cork. Hup! From their vocal abilities, commanding stage presence, to incorporating the Trans Pride colours as part of their outfit, and coming in 6^th place, Bambie Thug has won our hearts!

To the surprise of some, including the women herself, Emmy will be representing Ireland in Basel this May with “Laika Party”. A catchy Scandi-pop song, it gives us an alternative happy story of poor Laika, the dog who went up in Soviet-built Sputnik 2 in November 1957 and she never came back down again. Staging will be key here to get the song’s story across clearly to viewers.

Better than before? Bambie’s performance last year is peerless and its incomparable to what Emmy is bringing this year (think of the goth-Barbie beach houses from the memes). What is better than before is being excited for Ireland’s entry two years in a row! Bring on Basel!

Greece

Here we have Klavdia, singingly her hauntingly beautiful ballad “Asteromáta” (“Starry Eyed Girl”). While a number of dancers accompany Klavdia on stage, their reserved movements keep Klavdia and her powerful vocals the centre of our attention.

Better than before? It’s hard to compare considering the two different music styles. Marina Satti’s “ZARI” merged traditional Greek folk music with urban pop, and we loved it, giving it 126 points reaching 11^th in the final. With Klavdia, unfortunately, while her vocal abilities are stellar, it’s far more timid ballad style might not be an audience go-getter.

7 wins, 57 entries, 60 years.

It’s an anniversary that should be marked – 60 years since Ireland debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest.

A lot has happened in those 60 years – culturally, politically, socially, economically, geographically, and of course within the Contest itself. So it’s only right that we look back.

It all started on March 20th 1965, when a budding Irish man named Butch Moore appeared on European television screens in 17 participating nations, as well as five who did not take part, including East Germany and Czechoslovakia.

Moore finished in sixth place, receiving 11 points on the night – 5 from Italy, and 3 apiece from Portugal and Yugoslavia.

That night was what sparked a sixty-year relationship with a contest that brought us many high moments, many low moments, and many “what did I just watch?” moments.

It would only take another five contests for the Emerald Isle to achieve its first win – in 1970 with Dana’s “All Kinds of Everything”.

For a small island country like Ireland to win a major European song contest was certainly a feat in itself, but that was only the beginning of our golden age, which would continue a short while later.

The first Eurovision Song Contest held in Ireland took place in the Gaiety Theatre on April 3rd 1971, with 18 countries participating – a record-equalling figure achieved in two previous contests, in 1965 and 1966.

The Gaiety Theatre was chosen as the venue for Eurovision 1971 as it was celebrating 100 years since its establishment in 1871.

The Irish Independent reported back in 1971 that the overall cost of hosting the contest was £65,000 – more than double the original £30,000 estimate.

The first Irish contest was also a contest of numerous firsts. It was the first contest to allow up to six people on stage, abolishing the previous rule of allowing only solo or duo performances.

It also marked the first time that Australia broadcasted Eurovision, through its Network 7 channel. They would then continuously broadcast each year through the SBS from 1983.

It was also the first and only time that second and third place entries were also awarded.

Monaco ended up victorious, with Séverine’s entry ‘Un banc, un arbre, une rue”. In yet another first for the contest, it would end up being the country’s first and only Eurovision win.

The following year, Ireland sent its first and only entry to be sung entirely in Irish. Sandie Jones performed “Ceol an Ghrá”, a song written by Irish playwright Liam Mac Uistín, as a tribute to his wife. Ireland finished in 15th place of 18 countries.

Ireland only had to wait until 1980 before it achieved its second win – with a young 25-year old Johnny Logan performing his now-iconic song “What’s Another Year?”, then again in 1987 with “Hold Me Now”.

It was then once the 1990s arrived, that Ireland’s gold streak took off.

Linda Martin, who previously participated in the 1984 contest with “Terminal 3”, won the 1992 contest with “Why Me?”, which was written by the old-reliable Johnny Logan.

In 1993, the contest was held at the Green Glens Arena in the quaint Cork town of Millstreet. The town still holds the record of being the Eurovision host with the smallest population, of just 1,500 people.

While RTÉ organisers were happy with the choice, after being offered the Arena for free by its owner Noel C Duggan, it appeared that not all were pleased with the decision – including BBC news anchor Nicholas Witchell, who was forced to apologise after remarking on-air that the contest was to be held in “a cowshed in Ireland”.

That year’s contest was won by Ireland’s Niamh Kavanagh, with the song “In Your Eyes”. Ireland was fourth nation to achieve victories in two successive years.

RTÉ opted to keep the following year’s contest in Dublin, this time being held in the Point Theatre.

It was in the 1994 contest that a major Irish cultural moment would occur – the first appearance of Riverdance.

A seven-minute performance broadcast to at least 34 countries across the world was met with a massive reaction, becoming a worldwide phenomenon which would tour the world in the years and decades after.

That year’s contest was won, again, by Ireland – with Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan taking the gold with the song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids”. The victory would make history, becoming the first time that any country won the contest in three consecutive years. It was also a record sixth win for the Emerald Isle.

Ireland’s hopes of a fourth win in a row were cut short when Norway’s Nocturne won in 1995. Ireland finished in 14th place that year, with the show once again held in the Point Theatre.

We didn’t have to wait much longer for our seventh win – with Eimear Quinn winning the contest the following year, with the song “The Voice”.

Since then, Ireland hasn’t been as lucky in its winning chances. The closest to a win was in 1997, when Marc Roberts came second with the song “Mysterious Woman”.

After that, as we rolled into the 21st century, the new challenge for Ireland was qualification from semi-finals – introduced thanks to the expansion of the contest.

Ireland has only qualified from 7 of 18 semi-finals the country has had to compete in, with 2024 breaking a four-contest streak of non-qualifications from 2019 to 2023 (excluding 2020, which was cancelled).

In those 7 qualifications, we have earned a grand total of 702 points – 278 of which came in the 2024 contest, where Bambie Thug finished in sixth place with the song “Doomsday Blue” – our best result since Jedward’s eighth place in 2011, with the song “Lipstick”.

Now, we can just hope for even more success at Eurovision over the next 60 years and beyond!

Emmy was welcomed to Dundalk with a large crowd of supporters on Sunday, as she held a meet-and-greet event.

Around 200 people attended the event, with Eurovision fans and Dundalk residents alike all supporting Emmy as she arrived.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @ogaeIreland (@ogaeireland)

Speaking to the crowd before performing her Eurovision entry ‘Laika Party’, Emmy said the large turnout “really means a lot”, adding that “you guys are amazing!”

Emmy also wished the crowd a happy Saint Patrick’s Day, ahead of the national holiday the following day. Emmy took part in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin the following day.

Speaking during a public Q&A with OGAE Ireland’s Matthew Joyce, Emmy said she was “so thankful and grateful” for the large turnout in the County Louth town.

Emmy travelled from Norway that afternoon, before being whisked up to Dundalk for the event.

“There’s so many people here, who turned out, to show so much support and love, and it means so much,” Emmy added.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @ogaeIreland (@ogaeireland)

When asked about her plans in the lead-up to Basel, Emmy said she would “rehearse, and rehearse more”, while also giving details about her planned performances at Eurovision pre-parties in Madrid, Manchester and London.

It was also noted that children have particularly caught on to ‘Laika Party’, and when asked how she felt of the impact it has had on children, Emmy said it made her feel so “grateful and emotional because to mean something for children makes me so emotional”

When asked if she has felt pressure leading up to Eurovision Week in Basel, Emmy said she wants to “make you [Ireland] proud, so of course there’s pressure in that sense, but I also feel so welcomed and loved by you guys and that means a lot.

Emmy will represent Ireland in the second semi-final of Eurovision 2025 on Thursday 15th May, vying for a spot in the Grand Final, which takes place on Saturday 17th May.

Are you new here? Become an OGAE Ireland member here!