Decision leaves Mickey Joe in tune

LOYAL Mickey Joe Harte supporters breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when his Eurovision song was declared a true original.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) panel decided that the 29-year-old’s entry, We’ve Got the World, was not a copy of the 2000 Danish Eurovision winner, Fly on the Wings of Love. In a statement yesterday, the EBU said it was “satisfied that RTÉ’s entry is an original song, and we wish Ireland well in the contest”.

Four other contentious songs were also cleared for the Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place on May 24 in Riga, Latvia. RTÉ stood over Mickey Joe Harte’s entry and did not provide the Eurovision organisers with an alternative song. Speaking from Latvia, RTÉ commissioning editor Kevin Linehan said the station was always confident that the song would be approved. “We hired two independent experts to do an analysis of the song and they both cleared it. Now the EBU believe it’s an original song and we’re delighted with the decision.”