Wild Youth reject claims they were 'too intoxicated to perform' at Galway festival

Irish Eurovision band Wild Youth have taken to social media to refute claims that they were "too intoxicated to perform" their set at the Ballygar Carnival in Co. Galway.

"Just because something is tweeted does not mean it’s always true," the band declared, emphasising the dangers of believing everything you read on the internet.

Wild Youth were scheduled to perform at 12:30am after an evening gig in Cork. However, they ended up taking to the stage almost an hour later, at 1:18am. They were also booked to perform a 90-minute set, but only played 50 minutes before ending early.

After the set, people took to social media to say that the reason the members of Wild Youth arrived late and ended early was because they were intoxicated.

Shocking attitude from @bandwildyouth who who booked to perform at the Ballygar Carnival this weekend. Arrived over an hour late, so drunk the lead singer could barely perform the songs and didn’t they even play for an hour! Serious disrespect to all those who attended

— Mayv (@Happygilmore223) August 8, 2023

The band were quick to shoot down the theory. "It’s not right that what’s put on twitter is becoming gospel nowadays," they said regarding to the many articles written about their alleged intoxication. 'The press will report on a tweet without fact checking of proof reading anything."

"The committee were very disappointed that the stage time & set-length were not adhered to by the band as per their pre-agreed contract," read a statement released by the Ballygar Carnival organisers. "We the committee understand the frustration of those who attended on the night."

However, the organisers went on to describe the "courteous and polite behaviour of the band" as they arrived, and that the band were taking steps to try and rectify the situation. They contradicted the claims of intoxication, saying that they "had no reason to believe that members of Wild Youth were too intoxicated to perform," and that they were "satisfied with their performance" for the length they performed.

It’s always very important to remember that just because something is tweeted does not mean it’s always true. It’s not right that what’s put on twitter is becoming gospel nowadays 1/2 https://t.co/oqYSSFJbP0

— Wild Youth (@bandwildyouth) August 10, 2023

The band and the carnival have reached a financial settlement, and the carnival will announce their plans to utilise the money at a further date.

Wild Youth represented Ireland at this year's Eurovision, getting to the competition's semi-finals.