Eurovision 2026 review: Father Ted, controversy and Ireland’s absence as Bulgaria wins – The Irish Times
Flor Lynch
Eurovision 2026 review: Father Ted, controversy and Ireland’s absence as Bulgaria wins
Boos, boycotts and tensions over Israel overshadow the 70th Eurovision Song Contest, in Vienna
Sparkling costumes, madcap banter and music to remember: yes, the broadcast by RTÉ of the classic Father Ted episode A Song For Europe has gone down a storm with viewers across the country.
But as audiences sang along to the fake Eurovision smash My Lovely Horse, a dog-and-pony show of a different stripe was unfolding in Vienna, where Bulgaria’s Dara was crowned winner of the real-life competition with the banging party anthem Bangaranga.
Amid the tears and the twirls, did anyone at Wiener Stadthalle miss Ireland, one of five nations to boycott the contest over the inclusion of Israel? Probably not. Considering the infrequency with which Ireland has reached the Eurovision final across the decade, our absence from the grand final was hardly headline news.
Still, this was bigger than one country, and the withdrawal of Ireland, Spain, Iceland, Slovenia and the Netherlands has cast a shadow over a competition that, in a perfect world, would be a celebration of music at its most outrageous and carefree. As did a New York Times report that claimed Israel had gone beyond the spirit of Eurovision by leveraging soft power to maximise its vote.
Boycotts, boos – which could be clearly heard when Israel received more than 200 points from the public and briefly looked set to win – and Father Ted reruns. Oh, Vienna, was your contest – the 70th Eurovision – doomed from the start?
The other major absence in Austria for Irish viewers was the pithy RTÉ commentator Marty Whelan, who always manages to be droll without openly scoffing at the contestants. He was missing following RTÉ’s decision not to air Eurovision. (We got Father Ted instead.) That was in contrast to the Irishman abroad Graham Norton, who chuckled at his own mispronunciation of Denmark’s Søren Torpegaard Lund and remained full of vinegar through the evening.
Yet for all the put-downs, Norton was required to maintain a straight face during the night’s most preposterous tune, the UK’s Look Mum No Computer and their Chumbawamba-go-cyberpunk novelty track Eins, Zwei, Drei.
Look, Mum, Still No Eurovision might have been a better name, as the UK was never in the running and limped home in last place (with zero public points).
Instead, all of the attention was on Delta Goodrem, the Australian singer once engaged to the former Westlife member Brian McFadden, whose power ballad Eclipse concludes, as all power ballads should, with the artist rising above the audience atop a golden column set in a piano (also gold).
Other front runners included Finland’s Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkkonen. Their entry, Liekinheitin, carried off a Eurovision clean sweep of thumping beats, ludicrous dancing and a very serious-looking woman playing violin in the face of a hurricane.
Elsewhere, there were silly songs and serious songs (the latter more ridiculous than the former), plus a surreal cameo from Billy Joel, who explained the inspiration for his showstopper Vienna. (It’s about his Austrian half-brother.)
[ Eurovision 2026: Bulgaria pips Israel at the post to win in ViennaOpens in new window ]
There are also moments sure to have the sensitive viewers yelling feck and arse at the TV – for instance, Serbia’s Lavina, nu-metal stompers whose performance featuring a mic stand straight out of Le Morte d’Arthur and roaring straight out of a battle scene in Lord of the Rings.
However, there was no repeat of semi-final protests – including a shout of “stop the genocide” – as Israel’s Noam Bettan negotiated the plangent power ballad Michelle, which finished second.
At more than four hours, the contest is ultimately a slog – not helped by the dazzling lack of chemistry between its presenters, Victoria Swarovski and Michael Ostrowski. It could do with some of Father Ted’s brevity. But now it’s over and the guessing game begins.
Will Ireland grace Eurovision 2027? Will Israel? It would be wise of RTÉ to plan ahead and consider whether there’s another sitcom rerun it might like to show next year.
[ RTÉ an ‘active member’ of European broadcast group despite Eurovision boycottOpens in new window ]