Name and where you live
My name is Ted – you can call me Teddy – and I’m a North Queensland boy currently based in Melbourne, after several years spent in Brisbane. I was finally convinced to move south in 2021 by my wonderful partner, after we inadvertently spent most of 2020 doing long distance with Australia’s state borders closed!
Tell us about yourself
By day, I’m a (baby) lawyer, but by night, I love languages, swimming and a bit of arthouse cinema. Having spent a significant chunk of my life learning French, I’m a bit of a Francophile (much to my boyfriend’s chagrin) – there’s nothing I like more than a 3-hour French film in which nothing much happens. When I’m not doing that, you can catch me at a farmer’s market with my partner, playing with our house dog Herby or getting some drinks with mates at the Clyde Hotel in Melbourne.
What is your Eurovision journey?
I describe myself as having become a proper fan in 2014, although I had been peripherally aware of the contest before then. I was channel flicking one Friday night with some friends and caught the SBS replay of the first semifinal in 2014, and was instantly hooked when I saw the epic staging for Aram MP3’s ‘Not Alone’! Having just come out around 2013-14 as well, Conchita’s win was also a massive moment for my self-confidence. Since then, I’ve gradually fallen into the rabbit hole of national finals, list-making and predictions, and I finally got to attend the contest in person in 2019, when I took a month off uni in the middle of semester to go jaunting around the Mediterranean (note: don’t do this). I am now, according to my partner, a very proud superfan.
Any Aussievision Highlights?
Unexpectedly, I became a massive Festival da Canção fan this year after being assigned as the "Portugal Guy" for Aussievision. I had the pleasure of doing the write-ups and livetweeting for almost all the Portuguese shows, and I became very fond of the whole line-up (Aurea was robbed!). I even bought a Portuguese textbook after the final to make a stab at learning the language – who knows what will happen next year!
Quickfire Eurovision Questions
Best Winner
'Amar Pelos Dois' (Portugal 2017) – perhaps my unexpected love for FdC this year shouldn’t have been so unexpected?
Favourite Three Non-Australian Entries
'Rhythm Inside' (Belgium 2015), 'Voilà' (France 2021), 'LoveWave' (Armenia 2016)
Favourite Australian Entry
'Zero Gravity' (2019) – Kate Miller-Heidke had been a childhood favourite of mine, so to see her at Eurovision (and to see her live!) was a dream come true.
Robbery
Tulia from Poland missing out on the Grand Final in 2019 by two points!
Makes Me Dance
'Miracle' (Romania 2014), 'Shum' (Ukraine 2021), 'Fuego' (duh).
Guilty Pleasure
'Moustache' (France 2014) – come for the bopping tune, stay for the great commentary on consumerism!
Favourite Eurovision Year
I genuinely don’t think we’ll see a year as good as 2021 again for ages now – the year off really gave everyone time to make the show perfect.
Favourites from the last century
'Viva Cantando' (Spain 1969), 'The Voice' (Ireland 1996), 'Monts et Merveilles' (France 2003 – that’s almost the last century, right?)
Favourite National Final songs
'Maeva' (France 2021), 'Why?' (Portugal 2022), 'Raw Stuff' (Australia 2020), 'My Heart Wants Me Dead' (Sweden 2016)
Favourite non-qualifier
'Limits' (Austria 2019) – the most deludedly optimistic I have ever been about a Eurovision song.
Any Final Comments?
For me, the Eurovision Song Contest is joy compressed into audiovisual form and projected into the inside of my brain for far more of the day than I would care to admit. I find its contradictions and its sudden swings in tone constantly fascinating, and never tire of finding new things to discuss (although I need to increase my knowledge of some of the older contests!) I am so grateful for the musicians it has introduced me to, the friends it has made me, and the places it has taken me - including halfway across the world!