Eurovision 2016: Fans call contest a 'joke' after Nicky Byrne fails to reach final for Ireland

The former Westlife singer didn't make the cut in the second semi-final
Unlucky: Nicky Byrne failed to make the final
AP Photo/Martin Meissner
Emma Powell13 May 2016
The Weekender

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The Eurovision Song Contest has been branded a "joke" by some fans after Nicky Byrne failed to reach the grand final for Ireland.

The former Westlife singer was kicked out of the competition during Thursday night's semi-final after his performance of Sunlight failed to impress voters.

Five countries – including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK – automatically make it through while others are left to sing for survival.

Richard Osman - who will read out the UK votes on Saturday night - praised Byrne for his "cracking" performance.

The Pointless star posted: "I'd love Ireland to win this. Nicky Byrne doing a cracking job #Eurovision."

But despite delighting viewers, it failed to translate into points.

Fans took to Twitter to express their fury with one branding it a "joke" and another a "shambles".

Others hit out at the decision to allow Australia to compete while some panicked that Ireland not making the final will affect the UK's chances.

Byrne later apologised for not making it to the final and thanked fans for their support.

He tweeted: "Amazing time amazing support, I gave it my all, I'm sorry I didn't get us there. I pass on the torch to someone else now next year."

The last time Ireland won was in 1996, when Eimear Quinn topped the leaderboard with her song The Voice.

Tuesday's semis sparked a similar furore when Iceland's hopeful Greta Salóme got kicked out. The decision was labelled a “travesty” and an “actual joke”.

UK hopefuls Joe and Jake will hope to fare better than Byrne and Salóme on Satuday night as they take to the stage at Stockholm's Globe Arena to perform You're Not Alone. They will be the 25th performance of the night.

The 10 countries from Thursday night - Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Australia, Ukraine, Serbia, Poland, Israel, Lithuania and Belgium - will join the 10 countries from Tuesday's semi-final, along with the 'Big Five' and Sweden for the grand final.

Eurovision is on BBC One at 8pm on Saturday, May 14.

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