Eurovision Australia Decides - All You Need to Know

aussievision
Feb 4, 2019
3 min read

Australia will competing in Eurovision for the fifth year and this year the public will have a say in who we send.

SBS with Blink TV are putting on Eurovision - Australia Decides where ten acts will compete to represent Australia in Tel Aviv in May. Here are the details you need to know:

When is it?

The show will be broadcast live on SBS on Saturday 9 February at 8:30pm (AEDT) hosted by Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst. Dami Im as well as cabaret star Hans will perform during the interval.

There will be a jury show on the Friday night that won't be televised but will make up half of the result (see jury below).

Also for our international guests it'll take place at 10:30am Central European Time on Saturday. All other Australian times are below:

Where is it?

The show will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition centre and tickets are still available. Head to: https://premier.ticketek.com.au/Shows/Show.aspx?sh=EUROVISI19

A preview of the stage (which looks amazing)

How will it work?

10 acts will perform for both the jury and the public. The jury makes up 50% of the score and the public via televote make up the other half.

The jury is made up of Christer Björkman, producer for Eurovision & Melodifestival; Fifa Riccobono, former CEO of Alberts; Milly Petriella, Artist Service director of APRA; Josh Martin, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment SBS; and Paul Clarke, Head of Australian Eurovision Delegation.

Footage from the jury show will be made available on SBS On Demand before the Saturday live final.

The public can vote via SMS from the Saturday up to 20 times (even before the show) but we encourage you to wait to see the performances before voting.

The act with the most combined votes from the jury and public will win and represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Ok who is performing?

The ten acts and their songs are:

Alfie Arcuri

Alfie was the winner of The Voice in 2016

Aydan - Dust

Aydan was a finalist of The Voice in 2018

Courtney Act

Courtney has previously appeared on Australian Idol, was runner-up on RuPaul's Drag Race and Won Celebrity Big Brother in the UK last year.

Electric Fields - 2000 and Whatever

Electric Fields are a duo made up of Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross. Their aThey have been described as "Daft Punk meets Nina Simone in the Deep Forest" and often have lyrics Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjar langauge.

Ella Hooper - Data Dust

Ella is best known from being the frontwoman of well known act 'Killing Heidi'.

Kate Miller-Heidke - Zero Gravity

The classicaly trained singer-songwriter is particularly known for her pop songs 'The Last Day on Earth' and 'Caught in the Crowd' She has also written for musical theatre including the stage show of 'Muriels Wedding'.

Leea Nanos - Set Me Free

The wildcard of the bunch, Leea's song was picked out of the 700 submitted to SBS for the competition. At only 16-years-of-age she will be the youngest taking part.

Mark Vincent - This is Not The End

Mark was the winner of Australia's Got Talent in 2009 and has had five top 10 albums.

Sheppard - On My Way

Sheppard are a Brisbane-based band who had a worldwide hit with 'Geronimo' that went number one in Australia as well as charting in the US and all over Europe. They have had three follow up singles make the Top 40 ARIA chart.

Tania Doko - Piece of Me

Tania is best known for being one half of the duo 'Bachelor Girl', she now shares her time between Australia and Sweden and is an accomplished songwriter.