Ireland take the stage during second Eurovision semi-final
Emmy Kristiansen, Ireland’s Eurovision 2025 entry rehearsing her song Laika Party at St Jakobshalle, Switzerland. Picture: Corinne Cumming/EBU/RTE/PA
Ireland have performed in the second semi-final of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
Norwegian singer Emmy Kristiansen is hoping on Thursday to get to Ireland through to the next stage with Laika Party, which imagines the Soviet space dog as alive, despite its tragic end.
In a silvery outfit, she danced on a small stage as below the singer, her keyboardist brother Erlend Kristiansen moved only his arm to the beat of the song.
She ended saying “thank you so much”, as the crowd cheered.
The 24-year-old hopes to replicate Bambie Thug, who at Malmo 2024 was the first Irish entrant to make the final since Ryan O’Shaughnessy in Lisbon in 2018.
Also performing was Australia’s Go-Jo (Marty Zambotto) with the tongue-in-cheek Milkshake Man and Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch), who is among the competition favourites with song Wasted Love.
Appearing to echo 1960s TV advertisements, Go-Jo started with a segment promoting a blender, before going into a cubicle to transform into a blue sparkly jumpsuit, which saw a part of it dramatically taken off.
Later, JJ opted for a black and white staging, which looked like a disastrous boat trip as he sung about someone they cared about being overwhelmed.
