A Chinese broadcaster has apparently censored Ireland’s performance at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final. Irish singer Ryan O’Shaughnessy performed his song ‘Together’ at the semi-final in Lisbon, Portugal. The singer was joined by interpretive dancers Alan McGrath and Kevin O’Dwyer, who performed a dance with LGBT themes. Hunan TV broadcasted the performance in China, which was also screened Mango TV online. Chinese viewers were quick to point out that the performance was censored. Pink News report that rainbow flags, which signify LGBT rights, were blurred out using a censor.

China’s broadcasting guidelines ban "abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours" which includes same-sex relationships and "sexual perversion". Speaking about the song, O’Shaughnessy said “my only intention was to help people see that love is just love, and there’s no difference – whether it’s between a man and a woman, a woman and a woman or a man and a man”.