Ireland and Croatia qualify for Eurovision final

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Ireland has broken its Eurovision “curse”, qualifying for the contest’s grand final for the first time since 2018.

Appropriately enough, it did so with the help of a “gremlin goblin witch” – aka singer Bambie Thug, whose electro-metal anthem Doomsday Blue is now among the favourites to win.

Luxembourg, meanwhile, made an overdue return to Eurovision after a gap of 31 years.The country, which has won five times, pulled out after being disqualified from the 1994.

Other acts who made it through Tuesday’s first semi-final included Croatia’s Baby Lasagna and Finland’s Windows95Man, as fans revelled in the year’s most out there performances.

However, it was bad news for Eurovision fanatics in Australia. Their act, Electric Fields, failed to qualify, as did entries from Moldova and Iceland.

Meanwhile, organisers had to apologise after one of Tuesday’s performers displayed a pro-Palestinian symbol.

Eric Saade, who was among the show’s opening acts, wore a keffiyeh – a type of scarf commonly used by people who want to show they are pro-Palestinian – on his arm.

A spokeswoman for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said: “The Eurovision Song Contest is a live TV show.

“All performers are made aware of the rules of the contest, and we regret that Eric Saade chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event.”

Ahead of the event at Sweden’s Malmö Arena, fans were warned not to bring Palestinian flags, symbols or bags into the audience. Strict security checks were carried out on members of the audience.

The run-up to the contest has been characterised by opposition to Israel’s participation, amid concerns over the humanitarian cost of the war in Gaza.

Israel’s representative, 21-year-old Eden Golan, has reportedly been confined to her hotel room while she is not performing, due to heightened security concerns.

She will make her debut during Thursday’s second semi-final.