Ireland will enter Eurovision 2025, but the Netherlands is tight-lipped about its plans

RTÉ HAS CONFIRMED that Ireland will enter next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in Basel in May.

Irish entertainers can now apply to be in with the chance of representing their country on the stage.

The Netherlands has not yet confirmed whether it will take part, after the Dutch act was kicked out this year and prohibited from performing in the final.

After the semi-final, it was revealed that police were investigating Joost Klein. The Netherlands’ Songfestival, which sends acts to Eurovision, had said it was “shocked” and deemed the decision to disqualify him to be “disproportionate”.

Most broadcasters have until 15 September 2024 to submit their application for participation, but the European Broadcasting Union has given the Netherlands an extension until 1 November after what the union described as “constructive dialogue”.

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Ireland’s national final – where an act is chosen – is usually aired on The Late Late Show. RTÉ has not yet confirmed whether this will be the case again.

At the contest this year in Malmo, Ireland placed sixth – its best result since 2000.

RTÉ Eurovision Head of Delegation Michael Kealy says the contest is “an amazing opportunity for any Irish act to catapult themselves onto the world stage”.

Bambie Thug performed at Electric Picnic in August and is currently on a 30-date tour across Europe with sold out shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Cologne, Helsinki, Dublin and Galway.

For acts looking to represent Ireland in 2025, the closing date for submissions is Monday, 18 November.

The 2025 host broadcaster SRG SSR and the European Broadcasting Union chose Basel as the location for the 69th edition of the contest, after Switzerland’s Nemo won this year.

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