Ireland Eurovision's Bambie Thug tipped to cause 'upset' ahead of first semi final

As they gear up to perform in Tuesday night's first semi final of Eurovision Song Contest 2024, Bambie Thug is being tipped to cause a serious upset for Ireland, as the singer is being championed by fans as the 'biggest dark horse' of this year and continues to cause a stir in Sweden.

Entirely different than any of the other entries for Irish national selection final Eurosong, Bambie's track Doomsday Blue wasn't among the favourites to triumph but it did just that, sealing Bambie's place on a flight to Sweden for Eurovision this year, as delegations from 37 different countries descend on the city of Malmo.

Unlike the United Kingdom's Olly Alexander, who has a guaranteed place in Saturday's grand final, Bambie will first having to make it through Eurovision semi final 1 on Tuesday, with her vying to be one of 10 qualifiers, along with the likes of Croatia's Baby Lasagna, alyona & Jerry Heil from Ukraine.

READ MORE: Eurovision semi final 1 running order as hotly tipped Croatia and Ukraine compete

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Fans in Malmo got their first look at the semi finalists, during two live dress rehearsals on Monday, with a press poll putting Bambie on top, as the buzz around them gathers more and more momentum, with the growing hype reflected in the fact that Ireland have now climbed into the top 5 of the Eurovision odds despite not qualifying for the final since 2018.

Since Ryan O'Shaughnessy finished 16th six years ago, the likes of Brooke, Lesley Roy and Wild Youth have all failed to make the cut, but now Bambie is even being talked up as a potential winner. Having seen Bambie's rehearsal performance, one fan took to X to enthuse: "had a goosebumps. It is a material for being dark horse of this year. I love Bambie Thug."

Also making that call, a second reacted: "Ireland is going to be the dark horse this year. It was already in my top10 but it’s coming higher. This is pure gold!!!!"