Internal selection to return
As reported by ESC kompakt, Austria’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest next year in Sweden will again be chosen internally. So far, there are no plans to move to a National Selection process in 2024, according to the program director of Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), the Austrian national public broadcaster. No specific reasons were provided, but it is suggested that there may be a current lack of resources.
In the past, Austria has not always opted for an internal selection, as they conducted a national selection from 1981-1984, 1990-1994, 2002-2005, and 2011-2016. However, the formats of these selections seem to vary over the years, as they do not have a consistent selection like Sweden’s Melodifestivalen, or Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix.
Austria’s current formula gave the country success in 2023, where fan-favourites Teya & Salena placed 2nd in the Second-Semi Final, and achieved 15th place in the Grand Final. They have also amassed over 16 million streams of their song on Spotify (so far).
Proposed Process
According to ORF program director, Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz, there is no current set process for the Austrian internal selection at the moment. However, she has specified that ORF is currently in the process of gathering together a pool of musical experts to assist in selecting their next entrant. The procedures are not known, but possible options include talent scouting, a public call for songs, and songwriting camps, the latter of which was how their 2023 entry, “Who The Hell is Edgar”, written by Teya & Salena, came to be.
Austria at the Eurovision Song Contest
Out of 55 appearances since their debut at the contest in Frankfurt in 1957, Austria has achieved 2 wins, one in 1966 with Udo Jürgens with his song “Merci, Chérie” and more recently in 2014, with Conchita Wurst and her song “Rise Like A Phoenix”. Austria has also achieved eight top-5 placings. At the contest this year in Liverpool, Teya & Salena represented Austria with their song “Who the Hell is Edgar”, and placed 15th in the Grand Final with a total of 120 points.
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