Share
6th May 2024
06:28pm BST
News emerged on Saturday that Ireland's Eurovision entry for 2024, Bambie Thug, had been hospitalised with food poisoning just days before their scheduled performance at the Eurovision Semi-Finals.
The Cork singer was forced to cancel a planned meet-and-greet performance in Malmo, Sweden on Friday night after eating "bad shellfish".
The 31-year-old was taken to hospital and placed on a drip after becoming unwell.
"I had to go to hospital late last night and be put on a drip because I ate some bad shellfish," they said in a post on social media.
"I need to take the day to try and recover so I can smash my performances next week."
Bambie Thug is due to perform their song 'Doomsday Blue' in the first of the two Eurovision semi-finals on Tuesday, May 7.
The Macroom singer has faced increasing backlash to their decision to perform in Malmo, despite calls for a boycott over Israel's inclusion in the competition.
According to the Irish Daily Mirror, Bambie Thug has since provided an update with her fans saying: “I’m better today. My muscles are in pain but I am over the food poisoning.
“It was horrible. I was ‘both ends’, [it was] gross, horrible ordeal.”
Last month, over 400 Irish artists called for Bambie Thug to boycott the event in solidarity with Palestine, including Derry Girls actor Siobhán McSweeney and singer-songwriter Erica-Cody, who competed against Bambie Thug for a place at Eurovision this year.
The open letter, which was posted on the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign website, notes a previous statement from Bambie Thug, where they said, “my heart has and always will be with the oppressed”.
The letter argues that “by participating in Eurovision you will be standing with the oppressor”.
The letter went on to say that Palestinians have asked performers to boycott the contest and the artists are asking the Bambie Thug to stand ‘on the right side of history.’
In an interview on the Late Late Show earlier last month, the Cork artist said: “I stand with anyone doing the boycott. I think if I wasn’t in the competition, I would also be boycotting. There are a lot of moving parts.
“At the end of the day, without the group of us who is pro-Palestine, it is less competition for the other side to win and it’s less of solidarity there,” they added.
“Obviously it’s incredibly heavy and I am extremely behind everybody.”
Bambie Thug also expressed disappointment at Eurovison organizers for allowing Israel take a global stage at the competition despite calls for a ban, similar to their decision to ban Russia after the country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The finale airs on Saturday, May 11 at 8pm and will be shown on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Read more:
Explore more on these topics:
