Ireland's Wild Youth gear up for Eurovision semi-final
Wild Youth are hoping to become Ireland's first Eurovision finalists since 2018
- Published
Ireland's Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth will compete for a place in competition's final later.
The Dublin band will perform their song We Are One during the first semi-final at Liverpool's M&S Arena.
Of the 15 acts taking part in Tuesday's semi-final, only 10 will progress to the grand final on Saturday.
Wild Youth will perform sixth, and face competition from bookies' favourites Sweden and Finland who are in the same round.
The other countries completing the billing are Norway, Malta, Serbia, Latvia, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland, Israel, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Czechia and the Netherlands.
Despite a record seven wins in the competition's near 70 year history, Ireland last qualified for the Eurovision live final in 2018 with Ryan O'Shaughnessy and his song Together.
Wild Youth frontman Conor O'Donohoe said the band will bring a "big and bold" performance to break the unlucky streak.
"We are feeling excited and a little nervous, but good nerves, I think," he told RTÉ Entertainment, external.
"We can't wait to get on the stage, and we just want to do everyone in Ireland proud."
Who are Ireland's Eurovision hopefuls?
The band's frontman Conor O'Donohoe promises a bold semi-final performance during Tuesday's semi-final
Friends Conor O'Donohoe, David Whelan, Edward Porter and Callum McAdam formed Wild Youth in Dublin in 2016.
They were selected to represent at the event in Liverpool during a contest on RTÉ's The Late Late Show earlier this year, beating other competitors like Public Image Ltd, which is fronted by former Sex Pistols star John Lydon.
How does the semi-final work?
The show starts at 20:00 BST and will hosted by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, Britain's Got Talent's Alesha Dixon and Julia Sanina, an award-winning Ukrainian singer.
The second semi-final will take place on Thursday night.
Voting lines will open after all 15 acts perform, external for approximately 15 minutes.
In a change to the rules this year, the decision for who gets through to the live final rest entirely with the public.
Only viewers in the 15 countries taking part in the first semi-final are eligible to vote, alongside three of the other countries pre-qualified for the final - France, Germany and Italy.
Viewers cannot vote for their own country.
A "rest of the world" vote has also been introduced so countries not participating can have their say.