Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy has spoken out against critics of the Eurosong contest who are pushing for the Eurovision qualifier to be moved from the weekly chat show to a stand-alone programme.
Last Friday’s TV special saw six acts battle it out for the chance to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest before a combination of votes from the public, an international jury and a national jury decided that Wild Youth would be heading to Liverpool in May.
However, fans of the Eurovision have criticised the Eurosong special that aired in place of the usual Late Late Show on Friday, with many calling for Eurosong to have a separate show from the Late Late Show next year.
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Despite this, host Tubridy has said that the Late Late Show is the ideal slot for Eurosong because of its large viewership and how it is "democratic".
Speaking to The Irish Sun, Tubridy explained: "Every part of the country tunes in to see what happens, that’s why it works. It’s not decided in a room by five people. It’s not decided by juries alone.
"The Irish people get to vote on The Late Late Show so it’s very democratic. The Late Late Show has got the viewership. It’s got the audience. It’s got the diverse population. And people are watching it."
Eirevision podcast co-host Conor Devlin, however, has said that he, along with others, is part of a movement for the national broadcaster to make a separate show to decide who will represent Ireland.
Speaking to The Irish Sun, Devlin said: "I’ve spoken to Brooke Scullion, who represented Ireland last year, and she told us that doing RTE’s Eurosong didn’t prepare her for the massive Eurovision stage.
"Because it’s a chat show studio which is only suitable for three-minute music intervals. Whereas a venue like The Helix is a place intended for singers to perform.
"We require something more suited to live performance empty (than) RTE studios with a few screens behind them. That’s why the Late Late studio is just not suitable for Eurosong anymore.
"There’s a big push. Not just from Eurovision fans but from the public, in general, to get the Eurosong off the Late Late Show."
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