Michael Kealy, RTÉ's Head of Delegation at the Eurovision Song Contest, has said that Ireland’s entry, EMMY, is an 'absolute dream’ and that she has been great to work with.
The Norwegian singer took to the stage at tonight’s second Eurovision semi-final in Basel with her song Laika Party.
Speaking on the Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ radio, Mr Kealy described her as "a little ball of positive energy every time you meet her" and that she puts people in good humour.
He added that EMMY was going to stand out for all the right reasons.
Speaking about Israel's participation in the competition, and whether the public in Ireland should boycott the contest, Mr Kealy said that he was not in favour of boycotts.
He said that he believed RTÉ and the European Broadcast Union have agreed to discuss the issue after this year’s contest, but that he didn't know the latest on the matter.
He said that anything that results in silencing artists or not allowing them to express themselves is "inherently a bad idea" and that the Eurovision competition is designed to bring people together, and that it is a noble ideal.
Mr Kealy said that the difference between banning Russia from the contest over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and calls for Israeli to be banned over the war in Gaza was that the Israeli broadcaster Kan has not broken EBU rules and has not violated them.
He said that the contest was a national broadcaster event not a competition between governments. He added that if people can give examples of where Kan has broken these rules or obligations, then there should be sanction against them for that.
He added that the reaction to Israel’s rehearsal performance on Wednesday night was "fairly muted" from where he was sitting.
Back home, he said that RTÉ’s involvement in Eurovision needed more resources as the event is getting bigger and bigger every year.
