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EXCLUSIVE: RTE splash out more than €100,000 on flop Eurovision entry Kasey Smith

RTE splashed out more than €100,000 on our flop Eurovision entry this year – despite not even making the final.

The State broadcaster spent the cash on selecting Kasey Smith as the Irish act and sending her to Denmark to represent the country.

Figures released by RTE under the Freedom of Information Act reveal they spent €42,795 on getting the flop singer to Copenhagen and putting her up in the city.

This includes €3,064 on flights for Kasey and 15 other people in the RTE delegation, €28,665 in accommodation at the four star Grand Hotel Copenhagen and €11,067 in other expenses.

Exclusive: Wonderland and Danyl Johnson at 98fm Studios

Wonderland: Kasey was previously in band with Jodi Albert | VIPIRELAND.COM

It will also end up costing nearly €65,000 to have selected Kasey on the Late Late Show like previous years, although the broadcaster claim that cost is not yet “audited”.

And RTE have to pay a fee of around €7,000 to the European Broadcasting Union to allow Ireland to take part in the competition, although they claim the exact cost of this is “commercially sensitive”.

This is the first year since 2009 that Ireland didn’t make the final of the Eurovison, with critics rating Kasey Smith and her band Can-Linn’s song Heartbeat the worst in Europe.

However an RTE spokeswoman defended the Eurovision spend on the former Wonderland singer – and insisted the plush hotel was picked by competition chiefs.

Guests attend the relaunch opening of The Morrison Hotel

Devastated: Kasey didn’t get to final of Eurovision | VIPIRELAND.COM

They said: “Delegates were obliged to stay in one of the offically designated hotels, all of which are either four or five star.

“In 2014, the RTE delegation stayed in the Grand Hotel Copenhagen. The price of the hotel rooms were negotiated by the host broadcaster Danish Broadcasting Corporation.

“All rooms were standard singer rooms. All flights were in economy class with Aer Lingus.

“It should be noted that the cost of sending Ireland’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 constituted a reduction of 32% compared to the costs of 2013.”

conchitta

Winner: Conchita after she was crowned champion

The Eurovision was eventually won by bearded transvestite Conchita Wurst belting out Rise Like a Phoenix on behalf of Austria.

She sung in our semi-final, with critics attacking Kasey at the time for wearing a dress that looked exactly the same as Conchita.

After being kicked out of the Eurovision in the second semi-final, Kasey said her and the band were “all extremely disappointed”.

Last year, Ireland came in last place with Ryan Dolan singing Only Love Survives – but he only managed to get five points.

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