It is yet to be confirmed if Australia’s Eurovision selection show is to return. ‘Eurovision: Australia Decides’ is the SBS show that decided the Australian representative for Eurovision in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
SBS is the Australian broadcaster that competes in Eurovision and is responsible for the mechanism that chooses the Australian representative.
SBS Show Announcements
We do know that Australia will of course compete at next year’s Eurovision in Liverpool but speculation about the future of the Australian national selection show was raised earlier this week when ‘Eurovision: Australia Decides’ failed to appear on SBS’s list of upcoming shows announcement.
According to their Director of Television Kathryn Fink has said that there is nothing to announce officially. Saying “Not yet. We’re still working through some details on that.”
The Show’s Contract
Last year Song Submissions for Australia Decides were open from August to September, but so far song submissions have not been sought for 2023.
Although no announcement thus far means that the show’s future is currently in doubt. There is speculation that there has been no announcement this week because the contract for the show has not been finalised, and that once this has been agreed between the show organisers an announcement about the return of the show will be made. Watch this space.
Past Editions of ‘Eurovision: Australia Decides’
In the first years of Australia’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, SBS internally selected their acts. Between 2015 and 2018, results included 5th place and runner-up. In 2019 Australia moved to a national selection, and for the first time, the public could be involved in choosing their representative.
Kate Miller-Heidke was the winner of the inaugural Australia Decides show and was sent to Tel Aviv, where she came in 9th place. The show returned the following year, but the show’s winner Montaigne would not go to Eurovision in 2020 as the contest was cancelled. Instead, Montaigne got her chance the following year, this time being internally selected. This year ‘Eurovision: Australia Decides’ returned in February with Sheldon Riley betting the other 10 acts to be Australia’s representative.
The show has followed the same format over its 3 editions so far, with 10 acts competing to win the combined jury votes and televote. This year’s edition featured an additional wildcard contestant selected for the show through a social media vote.
Australia’s Eurovision Journey
Being the latest country to debut in the Eurovision Song Contest; Australia debuted into the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, with Guy Sebastian representing the land down-under with his entry “Tonight Again”, where they managed to place 5th. Since their debut, they have managed to participate every single year in the competition. In 2022, Australia was represented by Sheldon Riley, with his song “Not the Same”, which managed to qualify for the final and finish 15th, with 125 points.
Are you keen for Australia Decides to return in 2023? Who would you like to follow Sheldon Riley’s footsteps in Liverpool? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tiktok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: TV Tonight
Photo Credit: SBS
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