It’s called Eurovision. So why is Australia part of it?
The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australian agency. To register to receive it by email.
The confluence of bizarre costumes, soulful folk ballads and an ode to the great American writer Edgar Allan Poe can only mean that Eurovision, the world’s biggest, most flashy and arguably most eccentric song contest, is gracing our screens again.
The event usually has political overtones, which have become more overt this year, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine rising above the proceedings. The Eurovision Song Contest is usually held in the country that won last year, but Liverpool, England, is hosting the contest on behalf of last year’s champion, Ukraine. Liverpool has incorporated symbols of and tribute to Ukraine into its festivities, including a memorial garden. This year’s Ukrainian entry, the pop group Tvorchi, sings a song that it says was inspired by the bravery of his country’s soldiers.
Australia’s entry, progressive synth-metal band Voyager from Western Australia, made it to the finals, much to the delight of fans who either stayed up very late or woke up very early to see it live, at 5am local time. (Strange fact: Voyager’s lead singer is an immigration lawyer whom we interviewed last year during tennis star Novak Djokovic’s struggle to enter the country while not being vaccinated against Covid for the Australian Open.) Voyager owes a lot to his achievements as this is Australia’s last year of guaranteed entry into the Eurovision Song Contest.
While Australia is not the only non-European country to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest – Israel made its debut in 1973 – it is certainly the most remote. Ever since Australia started participating in 2015, fans and commentators alike have wondered: why is a country on the other side of the world participating in what is ostensibly a European song contest?
The reason has to do with Australia’s migration history; the role that SBS, which broadcasts Eurovision, plays in national culture; and a boost from the Eurovision Song Contest to tap new global markets, said Jess Carniel, senior lecturer at the University of South Queensland and Eurovision expert.
Australia’s invitation to compete in 2015 was meant to be a one-off, in recognition of how popular the contest was in Australia, Dr Carniel said. “At that time, Australia was probably one of the largest non-European target groups,” she said.
SBS, a government-funded broadcaster targeting multicultural and multilingual communities, has been broadcasting Eurovision in Australia since 1983 and the show first gained popularity among the communities of European migrants who had moved to Australia after World War II, she said . Interest in the contest also grew among migrants with a non-European background who discovered the contest while watching the channel, she said.
Later, interest in the game increased. In the 1990s, it became a cult hit among young people who tuned into the channel – which billed itself as “cool” and “cosmopolitan” – for its foreign films and television programs. And from there, the contest’s popularity snowballed.
Another part of the reason for Australia’s involvement was that “we represented an ostensibly Western broadcaster in the middle of the Asia-Pacific,” said Dr. Carniel.
In 2016, after Australia entered the contest for the second time, SBS announced it had acquired the rights to develop an Asian version of Eurovision. While this contest was being developed, in 2018 SBS received a five-year guarantee that Australia would participate in the Eurovision Song Contest – a guarantee that expires after this year’s event (the 2020 contest was canceled due to the pandemic).
But setting up a new regional song competition turned out to be more difficult than when the Eurovision Song Contest started in 1956. SBS announced in 2021 that plans for an Asian Eurovision Song Contest were being canceled – although a spin-off competition was held in the United States as a one-off event last year. year.
Through it all, the viewership here has remained strong. And abroad, fans have gradually come to accept Australia’s participation in a European competition, said Dr. Carniel. “A big part of that is that we’ve taken it so seriously — we’ve put a lot of effort into sending high-quality performers that we’re proud of,” she said.
That has helped portray Australia as “a young, dynamic, innovative, creative nation, and that’s an important image for us to have out there,” she said.
The diverse range of entrants Australia has sent – including artists from migrant and Indigenous backgrounds – “distorts some of the stereotypes people may have of Australia as blonde, blue-eyed, Anglo,” she added.
While it is unclear whether Australia will continue to participate beyond this year, Dr Carniel hopes so.
“It’s really been a fantastic opportunity for so many Australian artists,” she said. “And it’s not like the Eurovision Song Contest will disappear from our screens.”
Now for this week’s news: