Australian broadcaster SBS have today solidified their presence at the Eurovision Song Contest, by signing a new five year deal with the EBU.
Since their initial invitation in 2015, which was stated by the EBU as a one time only event to celebrate the contest’s 60th anniversary, Australia have found themselves present in every edition since. In 2016, they received their best result to date, represented by Korean-born singer/songwriter Dami Im and her entry Sound of Silence.
Five years on from the EBU’s kind gesture and the nation have just held their first ever national selection, won last weekend by Kate Miller-Heidke and her song Zero Gravity.
SBS’s commissioning editor, Josh Martin, spoke of his delight at the news of Australia’s guaranteed Eurovision future.
SBS has been the home of the Eurovision Song Contest in Australia for 35 years and we’re thrilled by this invitation to become a more permanent member of the Eurovision Song Contest family. We will continue to showcase Australia’s amazing talent and diversity to hundreds of millions of people across Europe and the world. It highlights the power of music to bring people together – even from polar opposite sides of the globe. Thank you Europe
Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest added his thoughts to the news of the five year deal.
We are delighted that Australia has become a more permanent member of the Eurovision Song Contest Family. The Australians have long been huge fans of the event with a great number of loyal viewers year on year and when they were invited to participate in the 60th anniversary edition of the Contest, we couldn’t have imagined quite how popular their artists would become. It was a natural progression for us to agree to their inclusion as a participant for the next five years as they bring so much to the table and we very much look forward to welcoming them to Tel Aviv to perform, alongside the 41 other exciting participants in what’s sure to be a fantastic celebration of music.
At the recent semi final allocation draw, Australia were drawn to perform in the second half of the first semi final on Tuesday 14th May.
