Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Participating broadcaster | Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) |
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 9 (7 finals) |
First appearance | 2015 |
Highest placement | 2nd: 2016 |
Related articles | |
Eurovision – Australia Decides | |
External links | |
SBS page Eurovision – Australia Decides website | |
Australia's page at Eurovision.tv ![]() | |
![]() Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 |
Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nine times since its debut in 2015. The Australian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) who received special approval from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to participate. Australia is the only country outside the European Broadcasting Area to have ever competed in Eurovision.
Australia has been in the top ten five times, with its best result being a second-place finish with "Sound of Silence" performed by Dami Im in 2016, followed by "Tonight Again" by Guy Sebastian finishing fifth in 2015 and "Don't Come Easy" by Isaiah, "Zero Gravity" by Kate Miller-Heidke, and "Promise" by Voyager finishing ninth in 2017, 2019, and 2023 respectively.
Initially, Australia's participation in the 2015 contest was set to be a one-off event, the plan being only to perform again the following year had it won, but it was confirmed in November 2015 by SVT that it would participate in the 2016 contest, [1] and it has participated every year since. [2]
The contest attracts a significantly high viewership for SBS, and has a broad and active national fanbase. Due to time differences with the European host cities, the event typically airs at 05:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST). The contest receives widespread mainstream media coverage in the country, [3] [4] [5] and also enjoys a cult following amongst dedicated fans each year.
Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an associated member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It first broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest in 1983 and has continued to do so every year since. The contest has attracted a strong viewing audience in Australia. Early broadcasts of the contest in the country either featured no commentary or borrowed the BBC's commentary. In 2001, actress and comedian Mary Coustas provided commentary for the contest performing as her comedic character Effie. [6] In 2003 and 2004, SBS presenter Des Mangan provided commentary for the Australian audience. From 2009, Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang were assigned as commentators for the competition by SBS. [7] [8] 2017 saw SBS replace the commentators with comedian Joel Creasey and TV and radio personality Myf Warhurst. In addition to broadcasting the contest, SBS also broadcast the 50th and 60th anniversary programmes.
From 2010 to 2014, SBS allowed Australian viewers to participate in their own televote for the final. [9] However, these votes were not counted at the actual contest and did not affect the overall result. The SBS commentary team and Australian delegation were awarded a commentary booth of their own at the 2012 contest in Baku. They have been allocated a commentary booth every year since.
Australia's first appearance in the international broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest occurred on 14 May 2013 during the first semi-final in Malmö, Sweden. A short pre-recorded video titled "Greetings from Australia" (also referred to as "Why Australia Loves Eurovision"), submitted by SBS and hosted by Julia Zemiro, was broadcast during the interval acts. [10] This presentation marked 30 years of broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest in Australia, and was preceded the week leading up to the contest by a locally broadcast documentary, also hosted by Zemiro, titled The Heart of Eurovision. [11] On 24 March 2014, the Danish host broadcaster DR gave SBS permission to perform as an interval act in the second semi-final of the 2014 contest. One day later, on 25 March, Jessica Mauboy was internally selected to perform. [12] On 8 May 2014, Mauboy sang her song "Sea of Flags". [13]
SBS made its debut at the 2015 contest with the song "Tonight Again", performed by Guy Sebastian. Although Australia is outside the European Broadcasting Area and SBS is not a full member of the EBU, the EBU and Austrian host broadcaster ORF decided to permit an Australian entry to commemorate the 60th contest. The special circumstances surrounding Australia's entry and "to not reduce the chances" of the semi-final participants led the organisers to allow Australia to compete directly in the final, without going through a semi-final. [14] In the event that Australia should win the contest, the EBU had confirmed that in accordance with the rules, SBS would not host the following contest in the Southern Hemisphere, and instead would co-host the event with a full member of the EBU in the country of the latter. [15] Further to the EBU's statement, it was confirmed that Germany's participating broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) would be the first choice, and the United Kingdom's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) would be the back-up should NDR decline. [15]
Although Australia's participation in 2015 was announced as a one-off event, it was confirmed on 17 November 2015 that Australia would participate in the 2016 contest. Unlike in 2015, Australia did not receive automatic qualification. [16] On 7 October 2015, it was announced that Australia would make its debut in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 after SBS was invited to perform in the contest. [17] The Australian entry for the 2016 contest was "Sound of Silence" by Dami Im, which won the second semi-final before finishing second overall behind Ukraine. [18]
Australia continued its participation at the 2017 contest following their success the previous year. [19] On 7 March 2017, at the Paris Cat Jazz Club in Melbourne, SBS announced former X Factor Australia winner Isaiah Firebrace as Australia's entry. With the song "Don't Come Easy", Isaiah participated in the first semi-final on 9 May, then qualified for the final on 13 May in which Australia placed 9th. [20]
Australia competed in the 2018 contest, selecting Jessica Mauboy as the artist to represent the country with "We Got Love". [21] [22] Although this continued Australia's track record of perfect attendance in the final, it was the first instance of them not finishing in the top ten, ending in 20th place with 99 points, only nine of which came from the televote, the first time that Australia finished last in the televote.
In 2019, it was announced that for the first time, Australian viewers would be given the opportunity to choose their Eurovision representative. The Eurovision - Australia Decides national final took place on 9 February 2019, with a 50/50 say between an Australian jury and a televote to determine who would represent the country at the 2019 contest. Eurovision – Australia Decides was hosted in Gold Coast, Queensland by Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey. [23] The winner was Kate Miller-Heidke with the song "Zero Gravity". Runners-up Electric Fields were selected as the Australian jury spokespersons. Ahead of the contest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Australia's participation in the contest was confirmed by the EBU and SBS until 2023. [2] Australia went on to finish ninth in the final, after winning the first semi-final.
SBS announced it would host Eurovision – Australia Decides – Gold Coast 2020 to choose their representative for the 2020 contest. The event was held on the Gold Coast from 7–8 February, and Montaigne with "Don't Break Me" emerged as the winner. [24] Following the cancellation of the 2020 contest, SBS internally selected Montaigne to represent Australia in the 2021 contest, this time with "Technicolour". [25] For the first time since its 2015 debut, Australia failed to qualify for the final, finishing 14th in the first semi-final with 28 points. [26]
Eurovision – Australia Decides returned to select the Australian entry for the 2022 contest. [27] The show took place on 26 February, and was won by Sheldon Riley with the song "Not the Same". At the contest in Turin, Italy, Australia went on to finish in 15th place in the final with 125 points, after finishing in second place in the second semi-final with 243 points. [28]
For the 2023 contest, SBS internally selected Voyager, who had finished runner-up in Eurovision – Australia Decides the year prior, to represent the country with the song "Promise". [29] They qualified for the final, which took place on 13 May, and finished ninth overall with 151 points. [30] On 21 September 2023, SBS was revealed to be discussing its participation beyond 2023, [31] and Australia ultimately appeared on the official list of participants for the 2024 contest on 5 December 2023. [32] Electric Fields were internally selected to represent the country in 2024 with "One Milkali (One Blood)", but failed to qualify for the final, finishing 11th in the first semi-final with 41 points.
1 | First place |
2 | Second place |
X | Entry selected but did not compete |
Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Guy Sebastian | "Tonight Again" | English | 5 | 196 | Automatically qualified [lower-alpha 1] | |
2016 | Dami Im | "Sound of Silence" | English | 2 | 511 | 1 | 330 |
2017 | Isaiah | "Don't Come Easy" | English | 9 | 173 | 6 | 160 |
2018 | Jessica Mauboy | "We Got Love" | English | 20 | 99 | 4 | 212 |
2019 | Kate Miller-Heidke | "Zero Gravity" | English | 9 | 284 | 1 | 261 |
2020 | Montaigne | "Don't Break Me" | English | Contest cancelled [lower-alpha 2] X | |||
2021 | Montaigne | "Technicolour" | English | Failed to qualify | 14 | 28 | |
2022 | Sheldon Riley | "Not the Same" | English | 15 | 125 | 2 | 243 |
2023 | Voyager | "Promise" | English | 9 | 151 | 1 | 149 |
2024 | Electric Fields | "One Milkali (One Blood)" | English, Yankunytjatjara | Failed to qualify | 11 | 41 |
Year | Award | Song | Composer(s) | Performer | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Composer Award | "Sound of Silence" | Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci | Dami Im | 2 | 511 | ![]() | [34] |
2019 | Artistic Award | "Zero Gravity" | Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall, Julian Hamilton | Kate Miller-Heidke | 9 | 284 | ![]() | [35] |
Year | Performer | Host city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | Sheldon Riley | ![]() | [36] |
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others. [37]
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2015–2019 | Paul Clarke | |
2020–2021 | Josh Martin | |
2022– | Emily Griggs |
A five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals is made up for every participating country for the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest (except in 2023, where juries only voted in the final), ranking all entries except for their own country's contribution. The juries' votes add 50% to the overall result alongside televoting. [40]
Year | Jury members | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Amanda Pelman | Richard Wilkins | Danielle Spencer | Ash London | Jake Stone | [41] |
2016 | Monica Trapaga | Shannon Noll | Myf Warhurst | James Mathison | Craig Porteils | [42] |
2017 | Lucy Durack | Natasha Cupitt | Steven Capaldo | Jackie Loeb | Peter Hayward | [43] |
2018 | Richard Wilkins | Zan Rowe | Jordan Raskopoulos | L-FRESH the Lion | Millie Millgate | [44] |
2019 | Mark Humphries | Christine Anu | Lewis Hobba | Alice Chance | Mark Cummins | [45] |
2021 | Millie Millgate | Jack Vidgen | Ash London | Brooke Boney | Kandiah Kamalesvaran | [46] |
2022 | Dylan Lewis | Jessica Cerro | Matt Okine | Bridget Hustwaite | Milly Petriella | [47] |
2023 | Andrew Farriss | Toni Pearen | Eddie Perfect | Brihony Dawson | Latifa Tee | [48] |
Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1971 [lower-alpha 3] | Unknown | Did not participate | |
1972–1982 [lower-alpha 4] | No broadcast | ||
1983–2000 | Unknown/Various [lower-alpha 5] | ||
2001 [lower-alpha 6] | Effie (Mary Coustas) | [6] | |
2002 | Terry Wogan [lower-alpha 7] | ||
2003 | Des Mangan | [6] [50] | |
2004 | [50] | ||
2005 | Terry Wogan [lower-alpha 7] | [51] | |
2006 | |||
2007 | |||
2008 | |||
2009 | Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang | [52] | |
2010 | [52] | ||
2011 | [52] | ||
2012 | [52] | ||
2013 | [52] | ||
2014 | [52] | ||
2015 | Lee Lin Chin | [52] [53] | |
2016 | [52] [54] | ||
2017 | Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey | [55] | |
2018 | Ricardo Gonçalves | [56] | |
2019 | Electric Fields | [57] | |
2021 | Joel Creasey | [58] | |
2022 | Courtney Act | [59] | |
2023 | Catherine Martin | [60] [61] | |
2024 | Danny Estrin | [62] [63] |
Although not actively participating at the Eurovision Song Contest prior to the 2014 semi-final interval presentation, Australia has appeared in the contest incidentally in a number of ways:
North Macedonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 21 times since its official debut in 1998. The country had attempted to participate in 1996, but failed to qualify from the audio-only qualifying round. The Macedonian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Macedonian Radio Television (MRT).
Armenia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since making its debut in 2006, when André became the first participant representing Armenia and was the first singer from the Caucasus region to compete at Eurovision. The Armenian participant broadcaster in the contest is the Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV).
Montenegro has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 12 times since its debut in 2007. The Montenegrin participant broadcaster in the contest is Radio i Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG).
The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the 2015 contest with the song "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), the contest was held at the Globe Arena and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and a final on 14 May 2016. The three live shows were presented by Petra Mede and the previous year's winner Måns Zelmerlöw.
Australia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 by invitation from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) as a "one-off" special guest to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Eurovision. The country participated with the song "Tonight Again" written by Guy Sebastian, David Ryan Harris and Louis Schoorl. The song was performed by Guy Sebastian, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Sebastian was announced as the Australian representative on 3 March 2015 during a press conference in Sydney. The song Sebastian performed, "Tonight Again", was presented to the public on 16 March 2015. The Australian coloratura soprano of Armenian descent Mary-Jean O'Doherty also participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 contest as part of the group Genealogy representing Armenia, but this marked the first time that the country has officially participated.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Sound of Silence" written by Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci. The song was performed by Dami Im, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Im was announced as the Australian representative on 3 March 2016 during the Sydney concert of Conchita Wurst, Austria's Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner. The song Im performed, "Sound of Silence", was presented to the public on 11 March 2016.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the fourteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, in Valletta, Malta. This was the second time that Malta have hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, their first being in 2014. Jon Ola Sand was appointed as the Executive Supervisor for the 2016 Junior Eurovision Song Contest, following the dismissal of the former supervisor, Vladislav Yakovlev.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the 2016 contest with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), the contest was held at the International Exhibition Centre and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May, and a final on 13 May 2017. The three live shows were presented by Ukrainian television presenters Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko, being the first contest since the inaugural 1956 edition without a female host.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the fifteenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It took place on 26 November 2017 at the Olympic Palace, in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. This was the fifth time that the contest was hosted by the previous year's winning country. The visual design and contest slogan, "Shine Bright", were revealed in May 2017.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Don't Come Easy" written by Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci and Michael Angelo. The song was performed by Isaiah Firebrace, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Firebrace as the Australian representative and the song he performed, "Don't Come Easy", was announced and presented to the public on 7 March 2017 during an announcement event in Melbourne.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "We Got Love" written by Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci and Jessica Mauboy. The song was performed by Jessica Mauboy, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Mauboy was announced as the Australian representative on 11 December 2017. The song Mauboy performed, "We Got Love", was presented to the public on 8 March 2018.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Zero Gravity" written by Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall and Julian Hamilton. The song was performed by Kate Miller-Heidke. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) organised the national final Eurovision - Australia Decides in order to select the Australian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ten artists and songs competed in the national final and the winner was selected by a public and jury vote.
Eurovision – Australia Decides was an annual song competition organised by Australian public broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and production partner Blink TV. It determined the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest between 2019 and 2022.
Australia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Don't Break Me" written by Jessica Cerro, Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci. The song would have been performed by Montaigne. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) organised the national final Eurovision – Australia Decides in order to select the Australian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Ten artists and songs competed in the national final and the winner was selected by a public and jury vote.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Technicolour" written by Montaigne and Dave Hammer. The song was performed by Montaigne, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2021 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Montaigne was announced as the Australian representative on 2 April 2020 after they were due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Don't Break Me" before the 2020 event's cancellation. The song Montaigne performed, "Technicolour", was presented to the public on 4 March 2021.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) selected Sheldon Riley with "Not the Same" to represent the country, after he won Eurovision – Australia Decides on 26 February 2022.
Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, with the song "Snap" performed by Rosa Linn. The internal selection of Rosa Linn as the Armenian artist in the 2022 contest was announced by the Armenian broadcaster Public Television of Armenia (AMPTV) on 11 March 2022, while the song "Snap" was later presented to the public on 19 March 2022.
Azerbaijan participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Tell Me More" performed by the duo TuralTuranX which was internally selected by the Azerbaijani broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV) to represent the nation at the 2023 contest. TuralTuranX's selection as the Azerbaijani Eurovision entrant was announced on 9 March 2023, while the song "Tell Me More" was presented to the public on 13 March 2023.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Promise", written by Alex Canion, Ashley Doodkorte, Daniel Estrin, Scott Kay, and Simone Dow. The song is performed by Voyager. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) selected the Australian entry for the contest. The song and artist were officially revealed by SBS as the Australian entrant on 21 February 2023.
Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with "One Milkali " performed by Electric Fields. The Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) internally selected the Australian entry for the contest.