Eurovision Is Hosted in a Horse-Riding Arena in a Village of 1,500

MAY 15 1993 · 12:10

RTÉ / Green Glens Arena · "N/A" · Ireland · 1993 Language: N/A · Venue: Green Glens Arena · Host: Millstreet, Ireland · Type: deep cut · Broadcast: color analog Ireland has won Eurovision for the second consecutive year. RTÉ's budget cannot handle a second Dublin production cycle. Millstreet — a County Cork village of 1,500 people — offers the Green Glens Arena, a horse-riding equestrian arena, as venue. RTÉ accepts. Eurovision 1993 is held in the smallest-population host town ever. Niamh Kavanagh wins for Ireland with 'In Your Eyes'. Context The Green Glens Arena had been built for equestrian events by local entrepreneur Noel C. Duggan. Most Eurovision production was improvised — RTÉ rented additional equipment from Dublin and bused in press accommodation from multiple nearby Cork villages. The hay smell reportedly lingered in the green room for days. Legacy The Millstreet card is now a beloved piece of Eurovision mythology. Duggan's Green Glens Arena became a standard reference in Eurovision production lore. Ireland's 1993 third-consecutive win extended the country's 1990s dominance but left RTÉ financially uneasy — Ireland would later send deliberately weak entries in attempts to lose.