Australia’s SBS to select their Eurovision 2018 representative internally

Australia’s National Broadcaster, SBS, has once again decided to select their Eurovision Song Contest representative internally.
Nonetheless, establishing a successful selection format is something they are aiming for in the future.

Lisbon 2018

The Australian delegation has confirmed to ESCToday that both SBS and BlinkTV are joining forces once again to shortlist the possible candidates for next years Eurovision Song Contest.
Ever since their debut in Vienna, Australia has been relying on an internal selection as a method of determining their representative. Basing it on their previous track record, we cannot deny that they’ve been doing a marvelous job.

Inspired by Melodifestivalen?

Australia’s head of Delegation, Paul Clarke, just recently stated that establishing a successful format for determining their Eurovision representative is their long-term goal.
With that being said, Mr.Clarke’s vision of how Australia’s national selection should look takes us to Scandinavia. In a brief statement he expresses his admiration for Sweden’s national selection, Melodifestivalen. Hoping that Christer Bjorkman himself would come to Australia and contribute in setting up a format that could bring Australia their first ever Eurovision trophy.

Australia at Eurovision

Australia made their competitive debut in Eurovision in 2015, when Guy Sebastian finished in fifth place with Tonight Again. It was originally intended to be a one-off participation to celebrate Eurovision’s 60th anniversary. However, Australia has participated ever since!
In 2016, Dami Im nearly secured Australia a victory, finishing second with Sound of Silence. This year, Isaiah continued their run of top ten finishes with a ninth place for Don’t Come Easy. In addition, more than 3 million Australians tuned in for the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest.

⇓ What our team had to say about Australia’s 2017 Eurovision entry ⇓

The Xtra Files: We Review Australia’s ‘Don’t Come Easy’ by Isaiah!

What are your thoughts on Australia’s internal selection? Who would you like to see as their representative at Eurovision? What is your favorite Australian entry in the contest so far?
Let us know in the comments section below and on all social media platforms at @ESCXTRA.