IRELAND’S EUROVISION ENTRY Emmy has said that she hopes Eurovision can be “a place where everyone can feel safe and happy” amid mounting calls for Israel to be expelled from the competition amid its prolonged blockade in Gaza.

The 24-year-old Norwegian singer is preparing to take part in the contest this week as  Ireland’s Eurovision entry with her song Laika Party, which is about a dog that was sent into space by the Russians with no hope of return. 

In an interview with the PA News Agency, Emmy was asked about the controversies at Eurovision last year and last year’s entry Bambie Thug accusing organisers of not supporting them amid frustration among some performers over Israel’s involvement in the competition.

Emmy said: “I hope that Eurovision can be a place where everyone can feel safe and happy and maybe like an escape from reality, celebrating music, because I used to say that my biggest job as an artist is to bring comfort and happiness to everyone that I can – especially in hard times.” 

It echoes what the singer told The Journal in February ahead of performing on the Late Late’s Eurosong contest when asked whether last year’s events played on her mind while deciding whether to enter this year.

“I think music is important. I think music unites people and is important. So it didn’t really affect my decision, because I really think that music can help people and that it’s important anyway, no matter,” she said in February.

The Eurovision Song Contest, run by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has for many years faced calls to remove Israel from the competition due to its violence against Palestine – and this year the pressure on organisers has mounted amid a total, prolonged blockade by Israel stopping any supplies from entering Gaza.

For over two months, Israel has been blocking any supplies like food, medicine or other aid from entering Gaza whilst continuing to land strikes that have killed civilians.

Israel has now said it wants to maintain a prolonged occupation in Gaza and forcibly move the Palestinian population into a small area of the region. It also wants to take over control of aid that goes into Gaza instead of allowing humanitarian organisations to operate.

The Irish-Palestine Solidarity Campaign staged a demonstration outside RTÉ’s studios in Stillorgan yesterday, with IPSC Chairperson Zoe Lawlor describing Israel’s participation in the contest as culture-washing.

“It’s vital to exclude the genocidal apartheid state of Israel from this global cultural platform, now,” Lawlor said in a statement.

Yesterday afternoon, RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst confirmed that he held a meeting with the EBU and “raised RTÉ’s concerns” about Israel’s participation in the Eurovision.

Bakhurst said that there “is a commitment from the EBU to have a wider discussion amongst members in due course”.

‘I want to make Ireland proud’

Emmy performed her song Laika Party on the Late Late Show last night.

In her interview with PA, Emmy said she was “scared” of the judges at the Eurosong contest in February. 

Actress and singer Samantha Mumba was critical of the judges in February, saying they “were unnecessarily rude” to the finalists after she entered with My Way for Basel 2025.

Emmy told the PA news agency: “I love Samantha, we are good friends, and I feel like … I was also scared of the panel.

“And because we are humans with feelings … we have feelings, even though we put ourselves out there so (if) panels – when music is what we do – make comments, it can be really scary, yeah, because we have feelings.”

The Irish panel, made of Donal Skehan, a TV chef, Dancing With The Stars judge Arthur Gourounlian, radio presenter Laura Fox and last year’s Irish Eurovision entrant Bambie Thug, who came sixth in Malmo, all suggested that Mumba’s work could be elevated.

Mumba posted saying they did not have the “credentials” to judge, and she stood by her “art”, with Skehan responding saying that her post was “entirely understandable in such a high-stakes competition”, but defending his background – which included entering the Irish competition and being behind hit singles.

RTE said that the panel’s feedback was done in an “thoughtful and considered way”.

Emmy also said it was “so crazy hard to believe” that she has gone from being a TikTok star to performing in front of audiences, alongside her brother Erlend Guttulsrud Kristiansen aiding her performance.

“It’s a huge honour, and we’re just so grateful,” she said.

“I feel like it’s almost an even bigger honour to represent another country. I’m so, so, so grateful and happy for the support of the Irish people. That really means a lot.”

She also called the experience a “childhood dream”, shared by her brother, and said she hopes that the song helps move away from the “really traumatising” true story of Laika.

Emmy said: “I’m such a big animal lover, if I see a fly drown, I try to save it. So to hear about a dog that was sent out in space all alone, to die, it just broke my heart and I wanted to create a scenario where she gets to be happy and alive instead.”

Emmy, who took part in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Dublin in March, said she has “two goals for Eurovision, and that is to try to do my best and to make Ireland proud”.

Contains additional reporting by Press Association