Just one week after the Grand Final of Eurovision 2019, a number of countries have already confirmed their participation for the 2020 contest. The latest of these is Australia – which comes as little suprise since SBS had secured their participation until 2023. They join the likes of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Norway and San Marino in confirming their participation.
Yesterday, SBS – the Australian broadcaster for Eurovision – confirmed to ESCToday that Australia will be competing at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in the Netherlands.
Originally, 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 they won. However, we can expect plenty more of Australia at the contest in the years to come, since their participation has been secured until 2023. As such, this announcement comes as little surprise.
Their selection method has not been confirmed, but we expect to see the return of Australia Decides next year. 2019 marked the first time SBS had organised a national final. Previously, they had opted to internally-select their artists and songs for the contest.
Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest
Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest four times since their debut at the 2015 contest in Vienna. The country’s best result in the contest is a second-place finish for Dami Im in 2016 with “Sound of Silence”. They also finished in the top ten in two of its other appearances in the contest, with Guy Sebastian finishing fifth in 2015, and Isaiah Firebrace finishing ninth in 2017.
As of 2019, Australia is one of only two countries to have an 100% qualification streak at the contest. The other country, Ukraine, has skipped two contests since Australia’s debut (2015 and 2019). This year, Kate Miller-Heidke brought Australia it’s fourth top 10 finish with “Zero Gravity”. She won the first semi-final and ended up finishing in 9th place with 284 points.
Are you happy to see Australia return for 2020? Would you like to see Australia Decides return for 2020? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates!
