Australia: “Eurovision:Australia Decides” to determine 2020 Eurovision entry
The Australian national broadcaster , SBS revealed last evening that it will be sticking with “Eurovision: Australia Decides” once again to determine the country’s entry for Eurovision 2020.
In 2019 Australia held its first national final, sending Kate Miller Heidke to defend the Australian colors in Tel Aviv. Kate’s 9th placing brought the Aussies back in the top 10 places, urging them to stick with the same national selection format.
Similar to last year’s mechanism, the nationa final will take place the second week of February over two nights. The Australian national selection will unfold over Friday , February 7th and Saturday February 8th. The show will take place at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and will be presented to us by last year’s hosts, Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst .
The final will see a total of 10 songs battle for the golden ticket to The Netherlands next May. Interested songwriters can send in their entries by uploading their songs through the official Australia Decides submission window until September 30th. Paul Clarke, creative director of the show mentioned of upcoming surprises concerning the format and the names we will see particpate in the Australian national final.
The Eurovision Story so Far
Australia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest five times since their debut at the 2015 contest in Vienna. Although Australia’s first participation in the 2015 contest was set to be a single time participation, the country was invited to take part in the following years successively. Last year after an agreement with EBU, Australia secured its participation up to 2023.
The country’s best result in the contest is Dami Im’s 2nd place in 2016. Australia has also finished in the top ten in three of its other appearances in the contest, with Guy Sebastian finishing fifth in 2015, and Isaiah Firebrace finishing ninth in 2017 . In 2019 , Kate Miller Heidke won the first national final to take place in the country and represented the land of Down Under at Tel Aviv with her song “Zero Gravity”. Kate achieved a 9th placing marking the country’s return back in the top 10.
Source: SBS
