🇦🇺 SBS confirm broadcast schedule as Montaigne set to join shows from SBS Studios

Ahead of the contest later this month, SBS have confirmed their broadcast schedule and commentary team for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey, who began commentating for Australia in 2017, will commentate again on all three shows. Viewers in Australia will also be able to watch other Eurovision-related shows during the contest week.

Australian participant Montaigne has also revealed in an interview with Aussievision that she is set to join the first semi-final live from the SBS Studios, where she will talk to the hosts in Rotterdam live during green room segments. Australia are currently the only country set to take part in the contest using their live-on-tape performance.

Morning broadcasts and primetime repeats

As always, Australian fans will need to wake up early to watch the shows live! All three shows will begin live at 5am AEST. The shows will be broadcast live on SBS on Wednesday 19th, Friday 21st and Sunday 23rd May. All three shows will be repeated later, on the same day, at 8:30pm AEST for both semi-finals and at 7:30pm AEST for the final.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – originally released on Netflix last year – will get its Australian free-to-air premiere on Friday 14th May at 8:30pm AEST on SBS. Commentators Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey have also curated a special playlist of their favourite SBS TV series which can be streamed on SBS On Demand from Friday 14th May.

SBS has also marked Eurovision week with a ‘Music Week’ on SBS World Movies. From 17th May, movie buffs will be able to watch popular musical movies including Bugsy Malone, Billy Elliot, The Blues Brothers and Florence Foster Jenkins.

Crossing over live to Rotterdam

Speaking to Aussievision, Montaigne confirmed that she would be joining in with the Eurovision shows from the SBS Studios. Earlier this month, it was announced that the Australian delegation would not be travelling to Rotterdam to take part in the contest.

At heart I’m a morning person physiologically, but not lately! I’ve been getting up around 9:30am…. The earliest thing I have to do is the day of my performance, I’ll have to be at the SBS studios for 5:00am to do the Green Room crossover, and I’ll have to do my makeup before that so it’s going to be a bit of an early start.
– Montaigne, speaking to Aussievision

Addressing the fact that Australia wouldn’t be present in Rotterdam, Montaigne said that she isn’t too stressed about the situation and is ready to move forward towards the contest.

I feel enough time has passed that I have accepted the situation and just want to move forward with whatever the process is. I’m not too stressed about it now. I feel ok.
– Montaigne, speaking to Aussievision

Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Although many Australians have performed on the Eurovision stage, it wasn’t until 2015 the nation took part ‘as a guest’. Guy Sebastian flew the flag with the uptempo ‘Tonight Again’, coming 5th. Due to the resounding success and positive response, Australia have competed in the contest since. In 2019, the EBU guaranteed Australia’s ability to participate until 2023. To date, Dami Im currently holds the crown for ‘best Australian result’ – almost winning the contest with ‘Sound of Silence’.

Last year, Montaigne was selected as Australia’s representative after winning Eurovision: Australia Decides with her song, “Don’t Break Me”. After the contest was cancelled, SBS invited Montaigne back to compete at the 2021 contest. She will perform “Techincolour” at the contest later this month.