Call for EBU to ban Israel's state broadcaster from Eurovision
Over 70 former Eurovision participants have called for the European Broadcasting Union to ban Israel's state broadcaster from contest. Emma O'Kelly reports.
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Extra.ie
18 hours ago
- Extra.ie
JJ's Eurovision trophy didn't survive the celebration
Eurovision winner JJ has joined the list of artists who have broken the iconic trophy with former Ireland representatives Jedward saying the act is now a 'tradition.' The 24-year-old singer, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, won the 2025 edition of the competition which was held in Basel, Switzerland last month. JJ represented his native of Austria with the song, Wasted Love, and expressed his love for Europe following his win. Eurovision winner JJ has joined the list of artists who have broken the iconic trophy with former Ireland representatives Jedward saying the act is now a 'tradition.' Pic:Over the weekend, JJ took to video-sharing app TikTok to confirm the unthinkable had happened… the glass microphone had broken. The singer captioned the video, which saw him show the trophy in two pieces, 'Everyone: Nemo broke their trophy, you better be careful with it.' JJ used the viral Surprise Surprise audio, which hears Cilla Black singing the theme tune to her famed British reality show of the same name. @johannesjjpietsch guys, my suitcase came back broken 😭 therefore everything inside my suitcase was broken too… dw we're getting it fixed 😝 #eurovision #wastedlove #trophy ♬ Surprise Surprise – I Green Screen Things Sharing further context, JJ said: 'Guys, my suitcase came back broken therefore everything inside my suitcase was broken too… dw [don't worry] we're getting it fixed.' The most generated more than half a million likes with many taking to the comments with many wondering why the trophy was so fragile. One wondered: 'I think this should be a sign for them to make the trophy hold better, it's iconic but breaks easily apparently.' Last year, the Eurovision trophy also broke with celebrations from Nemo getting too carried away as the trophy 'shattered' when they were putting it down. Pic: SPA/dana press/REX/Shutterstock Another made a play on the singers' songs saying Nemo 'broke the trophy,' while JJ 'wasted' it — Nemo won with their song Broke The Code last year. Two-time Irish Eurovision representatives Jedward added: 'It's a tradition now.' Last year, the Eurovision trophy also broke with celebrations from Nemo getting too carried away as the trophy 'shattered' when they were putting it down. The artist even sustained cuts to the thumb following the break, which happened directly after they were crowned Eurovision 2024 winners. It's not the first (or second) time a Eurovision trophy has broke — and likely won't be the last either! Other unfortunate winners include, but are not limited to, Netherlands' Duncan Laurence, the 2019 winner as well as Norway's Alexander Rybak, who won in 2009.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
RTÉ broadcaster Marty Morrissey and Eurovision winner Johnny Logan awarded Honorary Doctorates of Philosophy
Both their degrees were awarded by the Longford International College and formally conferred at the graduation ceremony at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Dublin Airport yesterday, before an audience of graduates, faculty, families, and guests. RTÉ's Gaelic Games correspondent, Marty Morrissey, who is a former schoolteacher and GAA coach in Co Clare, was awarded a doctorate in recognition of his 'exceptional contribution to Irish sport, education, and public life'. There was a standing ovation for Dr Morrissey after his acceptance speech, where he reflected on his journey, the role of sport in Irish identity, and the power of education to unite communities. The college's spokesperson said that what makes the broadcaster's career 'truly remarkable' is his 'lifelong commitment to community development, education, and inclusion'. President of Longford International College, Professor Vincent English, said: "Marty is more than a commentator — he is a cultural ambassador who reflects the heart of Ireland." 'His voice has brought generations together. We are honoured to welcome him to our academic family,' he added. The college also awarded a doctorate to the singer-songwriter Seán Sherrard (71), best known as Johnny Logan, recognising his 'outstanding contribution to music, Irish cultural identity, and international arts'. The musician won the Eurovision Song Contest twice as a performer, with What's Another Year in 1980 and Hold Me Now in 1987, and once as a songwriter with Why Me? performed by Linda Martin in 1992. The college's spokesperson said his work 'left an indelible mark on Ireland's cultural landscape" and that his legacy 'is a reminder that music and the arts are not only entertainment – they are acts of leadership, of storytelling, and of connection'. While accepting the degree, Dr Logan delivered an acceptance speech, where he reflected on the importance of artistic expression and the need to support future generations of musicians and creatives. Presenting the degree to three-time Eurovision winner, Professor Vincent English said: 'Johnny Logan gave Ireland a voice on the world stage — one filled with elegance, honesty, and emotional depth.' "His music not only shaped Eurovision history, but helped define Ireland's cultural confidence in the 20th century,' he added.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Former Eurovision star considered taking his own life after song contest
Former Eurovision star Joe McCaul has revealed he considered taking his own life after the song contest. Joe was part of brother and sister duo, Donna and Joe McCaul, who represented Ireland at the Eurovision in 2005 in Ukraine with their song Love while Joe was still just 17. After failing to qualify, Joe revealed he faced months of ridicule and only got a holiday to Crete out of it. Speaking to Brenda Dennehy on The Comeback podcast, he said: 'I remember when we didn't get in, the devastating effect that had on me. "I went back to my room, I was only 17, and I struggled very hard because that was more shame, more embarrassment, more rejection. Everyone was going out, and they (Donna and the crew) went to the finals on Saturday night, I didn't go, I just stayed in my hotel room.' He said when he returned to Ireland, he was ridiculed regularly. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week 'I think over the years, I was nearly taken advantage of. I was made an eejit out of by people, people in the media. That was hard because I was saying, 'Where is my self-worth, why can't I be assertive?' 'I found it very hard to be assertive because I didn't like conflict, and then because I didn't like conflict, if I reacted a certain way, some people would say 'Oh that was very aggressive'. So I couldn't even stand up for myself.' Joe said he thought they'd be 'millionaires' but all he got after Eurovision was 'a holiday in Crete'. 'I thought we were going to be millionaires. I thought I was going to be able to buy my mother out of the council estate. I got a holiday to Crete, that's what I got.' Joe is the youngest of six siblings and his mother raised them on her own. 'My dad, unfortunately, passed away a couple of years ago, but I had no kind of relationship with him. Alcoholism, unfortunately, took over his life and then he moved to London.' Joe said when a media outlet discovered his father's issue with drink it caused massive stress on the family. 'Once or twice I thought of taking my own life.' He said he had suffered recurrent intrusive thoughts about suicide from an early age. 'The intensity of it then would probably get a little more if I was under any increased stress or anything significant was happening in my life or something bad was happening… I was always terrified of the thought… I would always be going, 'f**k, I need to see a psychiatrist'.' After a stint on X Factor in 2015, where Simon Cowell called him an 'awful performer', Joe suffered at the hands of social media trolls again. 'And then there was the shame, the embarrassment, the rejection, and I just wanted it to be over there. 'The s**t that was put online, I remember my friends used to be sending them to me and the horrible stuff that people were saying. I used to have to say 'please do not send me this, I don't want to be looking at it'.' Joe revealed in 2014 that he had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis at the end of 2013. 'I literally just lost the plot then. I think I went on a self-destruct button that was hit. I went off the rails for months.' He said he was on medication that didn't suit him at the time but has since changed medication and is currently symptom free and in remission. 'Fitness, running, doing kind of high-intensity interval based kind of training has been my saviour. Not just for my physical health because that's quite good but for my mental health, which is an ongoing struggle that some days I'm really, really shit. 'But I have really good coping tools and I have a really solid support group around me,' he added.
