Wild Youth to appear on Late Late after cutting ties with their Eurovision creative director
Wild Youth will represent Ireland at Eurovision with their song "We are One". Picture: Andres Poveda/RTE/PA Wire
Ireland’s Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth are set to appear on Friday night's Late Late Show before they head off to represent their country at this year's competition.
The band will chat with Ryan Tubridy and will also perform their Eurovision song, We Are One on the night.
It comes after the Dublin band announced their decision to “cut all ties” with creative director, Ian Banham.
Earlier this year, Banham was announced as the creative director for Ireland’s performance at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
However, Wild Youth has since released a statement outlining their decision to cut ties with the choreographer, just two weeks before the competition’s first semi-final.
In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon from the Wild Youth Twitter account, the band said they will not have Banham "on or near” their team or their Eurovision journey.
“Wild Youth is a band that stands for unity and kindness. Our song represents our beliefs as a band,” the band said.
“We have cut all ties with Ian Banham and will not have him on or near our team or Eurovision journey. We are so sorry for anyone offended by his comments.”
And just to note we were with @michaelkealy1 and both himself and @rte were as horrified as we were.
— Wild Youth (@bandwildyouth) April 25, 2023
The 2023 Eurovision song contest is due to get underway in Liverpool on May 9. The second semi-final will take place on May 11 while the grand finale is on May 13.
Ian Banham has not commented publically on Wild Youth’s statement.
In a statement to the , RTÉ said: "Ian Banham is no longer a member of Ireland's Eurovision 2023 team. RTÉ won't be making any further comment."
Other guests on Friday night's Late Late Show will include Home Rescue: The Big Fix's Pete the Builder and Gaff Goddess Laura De Barra as part of the Late Late Big Repair Challenge. Tubridy will also speak to Irish woman Sinéad Burke who is gracing the cover of this month's ground-breaking edition of British Vogue.
