Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Country | Ireland | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Internal selection | |||
Selection date(s) | 5 March 2020 | |||
Selected entrant | Lesley Roy | |||
Selected song | "Story of My Life" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Ireland originally planned to participate in the
Ireland was drawn to compete in the first half of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which would've taken place on 12 May 2020.
Background
Prior to the 2020 contest, Ireland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 52 times since its first entry in 1965.[2] Ireland has won the contest a record seven times in total. The country's first win came in 1970, with then-18-year-old Dana winning with "All Kinds of Everything". Ireland holds the record for being the only country to win the contest three times in a row (in 1992, 1993 and 1994), as well as having the only three-time winner (Johnny Logan, who won in 1980as a singer, 1987 as a singer-songwriter, and again in 1992 as a songwriter). Since 2013, only two Irish entries managed to qualify for the final: Ryan Dolan's "Only Love Survives" which placed 26th (last) in the final in 2013, and Ryan O'Shaughnessy's "Together" which placed 16th in the final in 2018. The Irish entry in 2019, "22" performed by Sarah McTernan, failed to qualify to the final.
The Irish national broadcaster,
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
RTÉ confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 16 September 2019.[4] The broadcaster opened a submission period on 26 September 2019 where artists and composers "with a proven track record of success in the music industry" were able to submit their entries until 25 October 2019. In addition to the public submissions, RTÉ reserved the right to approach established artists and composers to submit entries and to match songs with different artists to the ones who submitted an entry.[5][6]
On 31 January 2018, RTÉ announced during the RTÉ 2fm programme Breakfast with Doireann and Eoghan that they had internally selected Lesley Roy to represent Ireland in Rotterdam, performing the song "Story of My Life".[7] "Story of My Life" was written by Roy herself together with Catt Gravitt, Robert Marvin and Tom Shapiro, and was selected by a jury panel consisting of music industry professionals appointed by RTÉ in conjunction with RTÉ 2fm.[8][9] The song was released on the same day via a music video uploaded on YouTube.[10] Roy's first live performance of the song took place on 6 April, during the RTÉ One Friday night programme The Late Late Show.[10]
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
In the Eurovision Song Celebration YouTube broadcast in place of the heats, it was revealed that the song would have performed 7th, between Lithuania and Russia.[12]
References
- ^ "Official EBU statement & FAQ on Eurovision 2020 cancellation". eurovision.tv. EBU. 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "Ireland Country Profile". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ^ "RTÉ TV & 2FM JOIN FORCES TO FIND IRISH ENTRY FOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2020". RTÉ. 21 October 2019.
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (16 September 2019). "Ireland: RTE confirms participation in Eurovision 2020". Esctoday. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Ireland opens Eurovision 2020 call for songs and artists". eurovision.tv. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ Adams, William Lee (26 September 2019). "Eurovision 2020: Ireland's RTÉ and 2FM confirm internal selection and three-year strategy to slay". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ "Ireland's Eurovision contestant and song revealed". Joe. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2020". rte.ie. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Ireland's eyes on Eurovision glory this year with Lesley Roy". eurovision.tv. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ a b Muldoon, Padraig (27 February 2020). "Ireland: Eurovision 2020 act and song will be revealed on 5 March...Popular radio DJ calls it a "whopper"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
- ^ Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ Eurovision Song Contest (14 May 2020). "Part two of Eurovision Song Celebration". Retrieved 3 June 2020.