Ireland’s Eurovision entry, Bambie Thug, has called on the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to “gain some conscience” and “humanity,” as the contest bosses struggle to keep politics off the stage at the annual competition.

The 31-year-old, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns “they” and “them”, also said “they cried with their team” when they found out Israel had got through to the grand final of the contest.

Bambie is currently fifth favourite to win the competition with “ouija pop” song Doomsday Blue.

Israel’s act, Eden Golan, will compete with her song Hurricane which was reworked after an initial version titled October Rain was ruled too political by the EBU, which believed some lyrics referred to the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

In March, Bambie was one of the nine contestants – including the UK’s Olly Alexander, Finland’s Windows95Man and Switzerland’s Nemo – who called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages in a joint statement.

Earlier in the week, Bambie said the EBU prevented them from displaying a pro-Palestinian message during their performance during the first semi-final.

They told reporters at an earlier news conference that they had been forced to change writing painted on their body which had been painted in an early Medieval alphabet which translated to “ceasefire and freedom”.

At the time, a spokesperson for the EBU said: “The writing seen on Bambie Thug’s body during dress rehearsals contravened contest rules that are designed to protect the non-political nature of the event.

“After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the text for the live show.”

Bambie said for the EBU to better handle future political issues it needed to focus on “gaining some heart and some conscience and some humanity”.

They also said demonstrations and calls for Israel to be banned over their ongoing ground offensive in Gaza was “completely overshadowing” the contest.

They said: “It’s an incredibly intense atmosphere, you know… I don’t think it’s sitting well with any of the contestants, to be honest.”

There are more pro-Palestinian protests planned in Malmo to coincide with the Eurovision grand final, amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Police estimated more than 10,000 people took part in a march on Thursday.

During an earlier rehearsal on Wednesday, Golan was met with some boos and cries of “Free Palestine”, and an audience member appeared to have a Palestinian flag removed from them in the auditorium.

Separately, Spain’s state-owned broadcaster hit out at the EBU on Friday, calling for it to respect “press and opinion” at this year’s event.

RTVE wrote on social media: “The Spanish delegation from @eurovision_tve has conveyed to @EBU_HQ its commitment to freedom of the press and opinion and has asked that @Eurovision let them watch it.”

The post was made shortly after it was announced that Madrid would be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest later this year.

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Some 26 countries, including UK entry Olly Alexander, 33, with his track Dizzy, are due to battle it out for the coveted Eurovision glass trophy tonight.

Bambie also referred to an unexplained “incident” involving Netherlands act Joost which happened on Friday and resulted in him being “investigated” by the EBU and removed from the two grand finale rehearsals.

When asked if they and other acts were supportive of him, Bambie said: “I don’t know what exactly happened with the incident, but I am with anyone who was pro-Palestine.”

There is no indication that Friday’s “incident” is linked to disagreements about the situation in the Middle East.

Joost had been part of the flag parade at the start of Friday’s rehearsal, and walked around the stage in full costume, but then failed to arrive on stage for his performance around 30 minutes later.

He later failed to perform in the grand final jury vote – which is the final rehearsal before the real show.

The EBU – which has said the investigation is “ongoing” – is yet to confirm whether Joost will be performing in the grand final tonight.

Bambie also said they were worried Ireland might miss out on votes due to the ongoing boycott to stop Eurovision.

They said: “I’m fearful that we will miss a lot of votes because of the boycotting, and that those then will make someone else have more of a chance to win.

“I don’t think it should, but there are 200 million viewers.”

They said people should vote for Bambie Thug “for art, for change, to shake things up and for best song, best performer in the competition”.

Croatia is currently predicted to win the contest, followed by Israel, with fellow non-binary contestant Nemo, who is competing for Switzerland, resting in third place.

Meanwhile, Irish premier Simon Harris has said the “whole country will be rooting” for Bambie, who is the first Irish finalist since 2018.

:: Sky News will be in Malmo with updates, a live blog, and all the biggest news from the final as it happens

Skies over the UK were turned shades of pink and green as the Northern Lights produced incredible displays for skygazers.

The impressive Aurora Borealis, usually only visible from northern parts of the British Isles, was visible across large parts of the UK overnight, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, unusually, southern England.

The display was triggered after America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm raced towards Earth.

The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit Earth on Thursday and brought with it the risk of affecting communications, GPS and power grids.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

The incredible display was also spotted across the northern US, Canada, Ireland and Northern Europe.

Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “It is hard to fully predict what will happen in the Earth’s atmosphere, but there will still be enhanced solar activity tonight, so the lights could be visible again in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England.”

Here are some of the best pictures overnight from across the UK

And, here are some pictures of the display last night from across the world

Israel has called on residents from more areas of Rafah in the Gaza Strip to evacuate and head to the “expanded humanitarian area” as it prepares to ramp up its military assault.

Despite heavy US pressure, Israel has said it will proceed with an assault on the southern city, where more than 1.4 million people have taken refuge from the fighting – around half of them children – and Israeli forces say Hamas militants are dug in.

Tensions over the gathering offensive have led President Joe Biden to warn the US would stop supplying Israel with some weapons if it presses ahead with an invasion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to proceed with the attack with or without US arms, saying “we will fight with our fingernails” if needed in a defiant statement.

The United Nations and other agencies have warned for weeks an Israeli assault on Rafah, which borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, would cripple humanitarian operations and cause a disastrous surge in civilian casualties.

The UK government has said it had “not seen a credible plan to protect civilians” and questioned the suitability of the current evacuation area of al Mawasi, describing it as “pretty barren land”.

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Israel says Rafah is the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza and key to its goal of dismantling the group’s capabilities and returning scores of hostages captured in the 7 October attack by insurgents that triggered the war.

However, Hamas has repeatedly regrouped, even in the hardest-hit parts of the besieged enclave.

Read more:
Ex-NHS doctor stuck in Gaza says family are ‘terrified’
Analysis – US report on Israel is damning but cautiously equivocal

Heavy fighting is under way in northern Gaza, which was the first target of the ground offensive and where Israel said late last year it had mostly eradicated Hamas in the area.

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Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee has told Palestinians to leave their homes in a number of neighbourhoods around Gaza City and head to shelters in the west, warning that people were in “a dangerous combat zone” and that Israel was going to strike with “great force”.

It came as the Biden administration said Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but wartime conditions prevented officials from determining specific instances of alleged breaches.

The assessment in a 46-page unclassified State Department report to Congress risks further souring ties with Israel.

The conflict was triggered by Hamas’s October attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures.

Much of the territory has been destroyed and 80% of its population have been driven from their homes.