We're only mere months away from the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting excited. I held a Eurovision Grand Final viewing party last year with a bunch of Eurovision virgins and it was a smashing success. We voted online, live tweeted with the rest of Australia, waved our thumbs up or thumbs down paddles in each other's faces, depending on how we felt about each act, played the official SBS Eurovision drinking game (wind machine – drink! Mid-song costume change – drink!) and of course, ate delicious European dishes, which everyone brought a dish (or more!) of.
But for those of you confused each year by all the snark around the interwebs and filling up your Twitter feeds about #Eurovision, what the heck is it?
But for those of you confused each year by all the snark around the interwebs and filling up your Twitter feeds about #Eurovision, what the heck is it?
What Exactly is Eurovision, Anyway?
Here's the gist of it, according to Wikipedia:
The Eurovision Song Contest often shortened to ESC or Eurovision, is the longest-running annual TV song competition, held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union since 1956. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition. The contest has been broadcast every year for sixty years, since its inauguration in 1956, and is one of the longest-running television programmes in the world. It is also one of the most watched non-sporting events in the world.
So forget Idol, X Factor and The Voice, Eurovision is the grandaddy of song contests. It hasn't always been a particularly serious song contest, with many countries entering... well... untraditional acts. And those wacky, weird and wonderful acts are what make it so much fun!
Eurovision Has Actually Spawned Some Huge Stars
Though Eurovision is an excellent platform for performers, almost guaranteeing the number they perform at the show to chart if not just in their own country but around Europe (and even in Australia!) plus meaning album sales and other opportunities, it can actually be the beginning of a much bigger career as well. Heard of that little Swedish band called ABBA? How about Celine Dion? They both got their start as contestants on Eurovision.
So Which Countries Are Performing?
SemiFinal 1
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Rumour has it that the UK – and other countries – consistently send entrants unlikely to win, due to the extensive cost of hosting the competition the following year if they did. That's fine – bad and zany entries give the world something to snark about and that's half the fun of Eurovision. Wondering what on Earth they were thinking!
Not every European country in the EBU must enter, in fact some countries come and go from the competition from year to year. For instance, in 2016 Portugal will not have competitor.
Australia? Did I see Australia? Since When Was Australia Part of Europe?
As Australia has a long history of infatuation with the Eurovision Song Contest, and many, many of our residents have family and heritage from Europe, in 2014 Eurovision recognised our love of the show and our very own, beloved Australian Idol fourth season runner-up, now actress, singer and songwriter, Jessica Mauboy performed during the Grand Final interval entertainment. She was so well received that in 2015, Eurovision introduced Australia as a wildcard competitor. Guy Sebastian, our very first Australian Idol winner and now international recording artist, competed and, after millions of votes, did so well that he came fifth in the entire competition.
Dami Im, Photo Source: SBS Australia Now, in 2016, Australia is legit in. Dami Im, nerdy girl-turned diva winner of the fifth season of X Factor Australia is going to be our big-voiced representative. Unfortunately, there are a lot of divas at Eurovision, and 2015's show consisted of an awful lot of ballgowns and ballads, so I truly hope they choose a great song that will stand out, and she doesn't become just another, forgettable, songstress. I don't know what will happen if she wins – Eurovision 2017 would theoretically be hosted in Sydney, therefore not exactly EUROvision anymore, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Australia isn't entering comedians or craziness. It seems we're only sending our very best. I can't wait to see how she does.
Australia isn't entering comedians or craziness. It seems we're only sending our very best. I can't wait to see how she does.
Måns Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede, Zelmerlöw, Photo Credit: Eurovision Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is being hosted by Måns Zelmerlöw (the 2015 winner for Sweden and reason the show is in Stockholm this year) and Petra Mede, the host of the 2013 show, who brought a lot of fun and a lot of personality to the presenting role. Hosts of Eurovision can often be quite stilted and stiff (not gonna lie – I would probably be freaking out hosting a show with millions and millions of viewers) so I'm really glad Petra will be back.
That's it for now. I'm going to leave you with Måns Zelmerlöw 2015 winning entry, Heroes, to get you just as pumped as I am!
For those of you outside of Europe who are wanting to watch, there will be a livestream of both semifinals and the grand final found at Eurovision.tv. Unfortunately there are no commentators who add fun facts about the artist, or song etc. and are often a great laugh, but never mind, you can perform your own commentary. Only three months to go!
That's it for now. I'm going to leave you with Måns Zelmerlöw 2015 winning entry, Heroes, to get you just as pumped as I am!
For those of you outside of Europe who are wanting to watch, there will be a livestream of both semifinals and the grand final found at Eurovision.tv. Unfortunately there are no commentators who add fun facts about the artist, or song etc. and are often a great laugh, but never mind, you can perform your own commentary. Only three months to go!
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