Lesley Roy is getting ready to represent Ireland at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest and her hometown of Balbriggan is gearing up to rally behind her ahead of tomorrow’s semi-final.
Lesley Roy will perform her song Maps in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday night in Rotterdam’s Ahoy venue, hoping to secure a win for Ireland for the first time in 25 years.
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Lesly was just nine years old when Ireland last won the Eurovision Song Contest when Eimear Quinn performed her song The Voice in 1996.
Now, her hometown of Balbriggan in North County Dublin is rallying behind her. Twitter account Our Balbriggan shared an image of a projection in support of Lesley, writing, “#OurBalbriggan and @Fingalcoco are proud to support Lesley Roy, Ireland’s Eurovision song contestant. Catch the Semi-Final, Tuesday, May 18th.”
#OurBalbriggan and @Fingalcoco are proud to support Lesley Roy, Ireland's Eurovision song contestant. Catch the Semi Final, Tuesday, May 18th 💙💛@EVENTSinFingal @lesleyroyreal pic.twitter.com/xaWf1QNXBK
— Our Balbriggan (@OurBalbriggan) May 15, 2021
It’s clear that the town is absolutely buzzing for her as pictures of Lesley have popped up in the town in anticipation of her upcoming performance.
New display at #OurBalbriggan Hub in support of our own Lesley Roy as she flies the flag for Ireland on Tuesday, May 18, performing ‘Maps’ at the semi-final of @Eurovision song contest. #eurovision2021 pic.twitter.com/q0W9iMQ4n1
— Our Balbriggan (@OurBalbriggan) May 14, 2021
In response to a wave of support she received from her old primary school in the nearby town of Balrothery, Lesley said, “it was so nice to get that while I’m here in Rotterdam working on rehearsals, getting ready for the big night.
“I hope I can come home and maybe perform for you guys during the summer. Watch us next week, here we go Ireland.”
Roy was set to represent Ireland at the beloved competition, but like many other hotly-anticipated events, it was put on hold due to the pandemic.
She will perform at the first of two semi-finals on Tuesday, May 18th. The second semi-final will take place on Thursday, May 20 and the final will be on Saturday, May 22.
Lesley Roy will go up against performers from Australia, Belarus, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Norway, Romania and Ukraine this Tuesday.
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