Eurovision Song Contest: Why is Australia in the ESC?

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Sydney. Geographically, Perth and Liverpool are almost 15,000 kilometers apart. This year’s Eurovision Song Contest, ESC for short, takes place in Liverpool, UK. Ukraine, who won last year, has been unable to host the tournament due to the Russian invasion. The presence of five Australians from the Voyager band among the participants was strange to some at first. Because one thing cannot be denied: Australia Not in Europe.

To understand why the “Aussies” have been singing along to the ESC since 2015, you need to look back a bit in history. The Eurovision Song Contest The first happened in the 1950s. At the time, the goal was more practical – namely to support the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) new program exchange. They also wanted to promote a common European identity.

Australia has been an associate member of the EBU since 1973 and also participates in other events and programs organized by the Broadcasting Union.

Australia is a multicultural country – and the ESC is part of that

After ESC Although a sizable fan base has developed over the years, Australians have joined the other side of the world since 1983. There, the song contest will be broadcast by what is known as the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), a broadcaster tasked with serving and representing multicultural Australia.

“Just as the EBU tried to create a European public sphere, so did SBS’s role in the Australian television landscape Multicultural Australian public Its creation was global in scope,” human scientist Jessica Corniel of the University of Southern Queensland wrote in an article at ESC. “The popularity of singing competition in Australia is both a factor and a consequence.”

Say: Australia is a country of immigration, many immigrants come Europe. “By becoming part of Eurovision, we recognize that Europe is part of our national DNA,” commented Ukraine-born documentary filmmaker Yulia Nalivyko. In the comments section for broadcaster SBS. By watching ESC, Australian viewers automatically get to know other cultures. In this way, especially children will gather at least a little knowledge about some countries that are “unclear” to them.

Eurovision Song Contest: Aussie loyalty rewarded

The loyalty of homeless Europeans on the other side of the world was rewarded for the first time in 2015. Australia was also invited to the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest Participation A. Down Under the Joy was big: “We were allowed to go straight to the final in Vienna, Austria,” enthused SBS.

And then jokingly: “Austria” – but that sounds almost like “Australia”. The Australian representative – singer Guy Sebastian – did very well: he still came in fifth place. A year later, his teammate Tommy Im finished second.

This time Australia will be in second place ESC semi-final It will be contested on May 12. If the Australians make it into the top 10, they will also qualify for the finals on May 14. Good for them only if it is a long journey.