The participant of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 from Ireland Bambie Thug had to change their costume due to "violation of the rules"

Ireland's representative at Eurovision 2024, non-binary Bambie Thug, who performed in the first semi-final on Tuesday, May 7, had to change their image after the dress rehearsal due to a message to Palestinians. They appeared on stage in a witch's costume: a dark outfit with a corset and a fluffy skirt.

According to Metro, Bambie Thug were forced to change the inscription on their body, which was encrypted using the Ogham script, an early medieval alphabet. It was used in early Irish and later in Old Irish. Its Ogham script was translated as "ceasefire," a direct reference to the war between Israel and Hamas.

"The inscriptions seen on Bambie Thug's body during the dress rehearsals contradict the contest rules aimed at protecting the non-political nature of the event. After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the text for the live broadcast," the European Broadcasting Union said.

It is worth noting that Bambie Thug has previously spoken out about the need to boycott Israel both in political discourse and at Eurovision. According to the star, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be compared to the war in Ukraine.

"When the events with Ukraine were happening, Russia was not allowed to enter, so I don't think there should be one rule for some and another for others," the singer said, thus comparing Palestine to Ukraine.

We also know about the star's orientation. Bambie Thug uses the pronouns they/them, becoming the first non-binary artist to represent Ireland in a song contest. Last November, they admitted that realizing their non-binary allowed them to "be freer as a person and therefore freer in music."

The song of the Australian duo Electric Fields, who performed One Milkali (One Blood), was also special. Its peculiarity is a mixture of two languages - national English and local aboriginal languages. Although vocalist Zaakaraya Fielding and keyboardist Michael Ross did not make it to the grand final of the song contest, they undoubtedly gained a place in the hearts of the audience.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that two members of the Big Five and the host country performed in the first semifinal. According to the old rules, the audience would have been able to watch the performances only partially in the recording, and the participants would have performed their tracks live only in the final.

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