Five years after making our debut on the world stage, SBS has secured a permanent spot for Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Kate Miller-Heidke is set to represent Australia at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel in May, after being selected by an esteemed jury and votes from the public in the first ever Eurovision – Australia Decides.
Though this will be our fifth year competing, our spot has previously been by invitation of the European Broadcasting Union each year. Our place in the renowned song contest is now secure until 2023, when the agreement will be reviewed.
Kate Miller-Heidke performs her winning song at Eurovision – Australia Decides.
SBS Commissioning Editor Josh Martin says he is ‘thrilled’ by the permanent spot.
“SBS has been the home of the Eurovision Song Contest in Australia for 35 years and we’re thrilled at this invitation to become a more permanent member of the Eurovision Song Contest family,” he says.
“We will continue to showcase Australia’s amazing talent and diversity to hundreds of millions of people across Europe and the world. It highlights the power of music to bring people together – even from polar opposite sides of the globe. Thank you Europe!”
Hosts Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst are heading to Tel Aviv, Israel in May.
Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest Jon Ola Sand says they are “delighted” that Australia has become a more permanent member.
“The Australians have long been huge fans of the event with a great number of loyal viewers year on year and when they were invited to participate in the 60th anniversary edition of the Contest, we couldn’t have imagined quite how popular their artists would become,” Jon says. “It was a natural progression for us to agree to their inclusion as a participant for the next five years as they bring so much to the table.”
The 2019 Eurovision Song Contest will air on SBS, live from Tel Aviv, Israel, in May.
