In 2015, it was initially announced that Australia’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest would be a one-time exception. However, due to the country’s continued success and popularity among fans, Australia has been invited to participate in the contest every year since then. It is now widely accepted that Australia is a permanent member of the Eurovision Song Contest, and there are no indications that this will change anytime soon.

Australia has had quite a successful run in the Eurovision Song Contest since their debut in 2015. With seven participations so far, they have only failed once to qualify for the Grand Final. The Australian entries have placed five times within the Top 10. In addition to the impressive 2nd place finish by Dami Im in 2016, they have also received a lot of attention for their unique and innovative performances, such as Kate Miller-Heidke’s aerial acrobatics in Tel Aviv 2019. It is clear that Australia has embraced the spirit of the Eurovision Song Contest and has become a valued and exciting participant in the competition.

Even if Australia is another continent far away from Europe, there are strong bounds which have grown over centuries. A lot of Europeans live in Australia or have European ancestors and family and the ESC has always been a very popular TV show, which brought a lot of people in front of their televisions early in the morning, despite of the time zone problem. The Australian TV has been transmitting the ESC since 1974, when the Australian singer Olivia Newton-John took part for the UK. The enormous time difference has never been a problem for the Australians. There is also televoting in Australia early in the morning, but there is always a reprise on Sunday night for those, who prefer to watch in the evening.

The Eurovision Song Contest has definitely become a big event in Australia, despite the geographical distance with all the time zones. In recent years, the contest has gained a large following in Australia, with many fans hosting viewing parties and even dressing up in costumes inspired by the contest in the early Sunday morning. The Australian broadcaster SBS has been broadcasting the contest since 1983 despite of the time zone problem, and the event is consistently one of the channel’s highest-rated programs each year. The fact that Australia has been allowed to participate in the contest, even if it*s not a European country. There is a strong connection to Europe and to the event.

Nevertheless, there have already been some well-known Australians singing in the Eurovision Song Contest in the past: Olivia Newton-John born in 1948, who is originally from England, but moved with her family to Australia when she was five years old. In 1974, when ABBA could win the contest for Sweden, Olivia made a great 4^th place in Brighton with “Long Live Love”

An there is Johnny Logan, a guy who has won the Eurovision Song Contest three times for Ireland, two times as a singer and one time as a composer. Johnny Logan was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1954 as a son of Irish immigrants. His songs “What’s Another Year” in 1980 and “Hold Me Now” in 1987 achieved worldwide success. In 1992, his composition “Why Me” was performed by Linda Martin and went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1970, Gina G. represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest with her popular dance song “Ooh…Aah…Just A Little Bit” (1996). Despite its success, the song placed 8th in Oslo that year.

Jane Camerford was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia in 1959. In 2006, she represented Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest as part of the band Texas Lightning, performing the song “No No Never” (2006) in Athens. Although the performance received praise, the song placed 14th in the ESC.

In 2014, Australia made its first guest appearance in the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen. Jessica Mauboy, who was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia in 1989, represented Australia in the Semi Final 2 interval act with her song “Sea of Flags” (2014). Four years later, in 2018, Mauboy returned to the contest as a contestant with her song “We Got Love” (2018), but only managed to reach 20th place in the competition.