(that's me on the left; I don't have the goatee anymore!)
Name and where you live
I'm Hugo and I live in Melbourne, Victoria and have done so my whole life!
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I'm 21-years-old and currently at university, doing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, and I'm going to major in History. Where that takes me career-wise I'm not so sure yet!
Outside of study, I love my sport, in particular the Carlton Football Club; my Grandpa has been a member for over 80 years, so he certainly has passed that down the generations to my dad and myself - unfortunately I haven't been able to see as much (if any!) success in my lifetime yet (fingers crossed for this year). I umpire football as well, so you'll see me on a Saturday running around blowing the whistle for the VAFA. I love tennis and cricket as well; I was lucky enough to go to the Ashes in London in 2019 which was pretty cool!
My other interests include languages; I speak a bit of French and a bit of Hebrew - and travelling - I took a gap year after school and went around Europe for nine months which was pretty cool!
What is your Eurovision journey?
My Eurovision journey started quite innocuously; it was 2014 and my dad was flicking through the channels on a Sunday night and happened to land on SBS, and the rest is history as they say! I had no idea what was going on, but I did some research and found out what Eurovision was, and from there I was hooked. I distinctly remember the first song I loved being Romania's entry that year, 'Miracle'!
I started out liking Eurovision simply because I liked the music, but now I love all the whacky and weird; I follow the National Finals, I'm part of the Aussievision team, I'm on the committee of the Eurovision Social Club at Melbourne Uni (come join, it's cool!), and finally I was lucky enough to go to the Grand Final of Eurovision 2019 in Tel Aviv
Do you have any affinity to nations other than Australia?
I am Jewish so I have a soft spot for Israel, where I've been three times including a stay for six months, and I have some family who live there as well. I don't generally associate Israel at Eurovision with my connection to the country itself, but I still want them to do well.
Any Aussievision highlights?
Firstly joining the team was a great highlight, so thank you all! Being a part of the big rankings the last few years has been pretty cool and getting my audio clips onto the podcast.
But definitely the most recent Aus Decides where I met most of the team for the first time in person was an absolute blast; we chatted about Eurovision and life (if those two can be separated!) and all things in between, that really made me feel connected to the team and a part of something really cool.
Quick questions on Eurovision entries
Best winner:
I absolutely cannot split: 'Tu Te Reconnaitras' (Luxembourg 1973), 'My Number One' (Greece 2005) and 'Arcade' (Netherlands 2019)
Favourite three non-Australian entries:
'Grande Amore' (Italy 2015) is my favourite Eurovision song of all time so I must choose this.
Other than 'Arcade' and 'Euphoria' which are pretty common, I also love 'Fai Rumore' (Italy 2020) and 'Lane Moje' (Serbia and Montenegro 2004)
Favourite Australian entry:
Is it too early to say Sheldon (2022)? Cannot be beaten. Being in the arena for Kate (2019) was pretty special as well
Favourites from the last century:
'Tu Te Reconnaitras' (Luxembourg 1973), 'Love Shine A Light' (UK 1997), 'Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son' (Luxembourg 1965)
Best live vocal:
It's really hard to go past Dami (Australia 2016), but props to Elina (Estonia 2018), Gjon (Switzerland 2021); and I think Diodato would have killed it in 2020 (Italy).
Guilty pleasure:
'Hunter of Stars' (Switzerland 2014) I love, and since the contest 'Loco Loco' (Serbia 2021) is one I love watching.
Favourite non-qualifier:
Hard to split: 'Amnesia' (Romania 2021), 'Stones' (Switzerland 2018), 'Verona' (Estonia 2017), 'Blackbird' (Finland 2017) and 'Hear Them Calling' (Iceland 2016).
Favourite Eurovision year:
Has to be 2016 - great hosts, great production. Close behind are 2019 - that was an action packed week, and 2021 - best song quality we've ever had.
Favourite national finals:
Australia Decides, obviously, but I also love Melfest (Sweden), Eesti Laul (Estonia) and C'est Vous Qui Decidez (France)
Favourite national final songs:
How long have you got - Elsie Bay - 'Death Of Us' (Norway 2022), Tanxugueiras - 'Terra' (Spain 2022), Loreen - 'Statements' (Sweden 2017), Madame - 'Voce' (Italy 2021), Electric Fields - '2000 and Whatever' (Australia 2019), Jaagup Tuisk - 'Beautiful Lie (Estonia 2020), Oscar Zia - 'Human' (Sweden 2016). Ok I'll stop.
Any final comments?
It's an absolute pleasure to be a part of the Aussievision team - everyone is so welcoming and hardworking and they're a great bunch of people! I'm so glad I have people to talk to about Eurovision, otherwise my thoughts would turn me stir crazy! Also I really hope Sweden wins this year!!!