page_title: Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
section_title: Semi-final
hierarchical_section_title: Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 / At Eurovision / Semi-final
caption_attribution_description: English: Nicky Byrne representing Ireland with the song "Sunlight" during a rehearsal before the second semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016&#160;in Stockholm. (Help translate this text)
context_page_description: Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Sunlight" written by Nicky Byrne, Wayne Hector and Ronan Hardiman. The song was performed by Caolan Magee, who was internally selected in January 2016 by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann to represent the nation at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. "Sunlight" was presented as the Irish entry during the announcement of Byrne's internal selection on 13 January 2016.
  Ireland was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 7, "Sunlight" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Ireland placed fifteenth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 46 points.
context_section_description: Nicky Byrne took part in technical rehearsals on 4 and 7 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. This included the jury show on 11 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.
  The Irish performance featured a band set-up with Nicky Byrne performing together with a drummer, keyboard player and guitarist who were on raised platforms. The LED screens displayed bright red patterns and fireball images of the sun with the stage lighting in red and white. The creative team that worked on producing Ireland's performance was led by Tim Byrne, former Creative Director of Syco Entertainment at Sony Music and included Lee Lodge, whose production credits include the 87th Academy Awards and the MTV Music Video Awards, and Michael Kealy, the Irish Head of Delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest. Byrne was joined on stage by five backing vocalists, some of which were also playing instruments: Janet Grogan, Jay Boland, Ian White, Jennifer Healy and Johan Sundvall.
  At the end of the show, Ireland was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Ireland placed fifteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 46 points: 31 points from the televoting and 15 points from the juries.
caption: Nicky Byrne during a rehearsal before the second semi-final
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