Eurovision 2022: Switzerland's Marius Bear reveals he is half Australian
Australia's Eurovision 2022 representative Sheldon Riley will not be the only Australian competing in Turin this year, with Switzerland's Eurovision 2022 representative Marius Bear revealing that he is half Australian.
In a clip on Twitter from the official SRF Eurovision Song Contest account Marius talks about what it is like being in Appenzell, Switzerland, while revealing being half Australian saying:
"I think I am only half an "Appenzeller". I've been losing my accent a bit. And I'm half Australian, half "Appenzeller"."
The 28-year-old singer-songwriter is from Appenzell Innerrhoden in Switzerland's north-east.
After being in contact with Marius himself, Aussievision can confirm that he is half Aussie and half Swiss and also holds an Australia passport.
Australians have a long history with the Eurovision Song Contest, with many Aussies having competed at Eurovision well before Australia entered the Contest as a competitor in 2015. The first Australians to compete at Eurovision was 50 years ago when, Peter Doyle and Marty Kristian, who were part of The New Seekers, represented the United Kingdom in 1972.
You can check out all the other Aussies that have competed in the Contest here.
Marius will be singing his entry 'Boys Do Cry' which is a self-penned track in English, written alongside Canadian-German musician Martin Gallop.
Marius is on his way to Turin this Friday as he prepares for Eurovision rehearsals and the semi-final.
In an interview with Oikotimes Marius revealed that he will be joined at Eurovision by his family, including his parents and brother and various friends. Marius' father has a medical issue and he shared that it means a lot to him to have his father there watching him perform on the big stage in Turin.
Read more about Marius and his entry for Switzerland in our profile article here.
Marius Bear will compete in the first semi-final on May 10 (European time), May 11 (Australian time) in Turin.
Though us Aussies cannot vote for Marius in his semi-final (as Sheldon is competing in the second semi-final), we can still show him our support through our socials, and then hopefully vote for him in the Grand Final.