With a handful of countries yet to reveal what they will be doing for Eurovision 2024, we had an update on of those countries; Australia, with SBS saying that their future in the competition is still under discussion.
Guaranteed participation only until 2023
Originally, Australia’s participation in the contest was a one-off. However, since then, the country was invited to participate in the competition each year. In 2019, the EBU announced that Australia has secured participation until 2023. Since 2015, Australia has participated 8 times (7 of those in the Grand Final), with their recent participation landing them a top ten spot.
Now that their guaranteed participation is up, the question of whether or not Australia’s participation will continue is being questioned. As reported by ESCToday, their future in the competition is still being discussed:
Eurovision is a cherished part of the SBS family. Australia’s future participation in the song contest is currently in discussion. We understand Eurovision fans are eager for an update and appreciate their patience as we work through these next steps. We’ll confirm details as soon as we are able.
SBS on their future participation on Eurovision
The deadline for countries to express their initial interest to participate has passed (September 15), with countries having until October 11 to withdraw without financial penalty. For reference, Australia’s participation in the competition was revealed when the participating countries competing in Liverpool was revealed.
Australia’s Eurovision Journey
The most recent country to debut into the Eurovision Song Contest, Australia debuted in 2015. Guy Sebastian represented the land down-under with his entry “Tonight Again” in Vienna, where they managed to place 5th. Since their debut, they have participated every single year of the competition.
In 2023, Voyager were internally selected to represent Australia with their entry “Promise”. Performing in the second semi-final, Australia finished first in the semi-final, qualifying for the Grand Final. The band eventually finished in 9th place, receiving 151 points – 21 from the televote and 130 from the juries.
Would you like to see Australia compete next year? If they do, who would you like to see represent them in Sweden? 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 look ahead to Eurovision 2024!
News Source: ESCToday
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
