top of page
Search

Who is Australia's new guest Eurovision commentator Danny Estrin?

  • Writer: Kiel Egging
    Kiel Egging
  • May 13
  • 4 min read

From fronting one of our most popular entries to reading out the jury votes for Australia at Eurovision 2024, Danny Estrin has become a familiar face and one of Australia's best ambassadors of the Contest during Australia's time competing at Eurovision.


And now, the Voyager frontman is adding another chapter to his Eurovision legacy as he joins Courtney Act as co-host of Australian broadcaster SBS' coverage of this year's Contest in Vienna, Austria.


For those of you who aren't familiar with this Aussie prog-rock warrior who plays the keytar and is always promising us that it's gonna be alright, here's a quick rundown:


About Danny


Born in Germany, Danny migrated to Australia with his parents at age 11, settling in Perth. He quickly discovered music was his biggest passion - and he described his musical journey to us back in 2023:

"Born in Germany, then early violin, clarinet and piano lessons, classical classical classic music, moved to Australia, classical classical then BOOM Nirvana then BOOM Type O Negative then BOOM black metal. Then BOOM power metal, then BOOM progressive metal then BOOM Voyager!"

Danny formed Voyager originally as a three-piece in 1999. They eventually expanded to a five-piece and released their first album in 2003. Outside of the band, Danny is a trained lawyer and a partner in a firm which specialises in migration services. He's also a classic car and British comedy buff and is married with two young girls.


About Voyager


Voyager are best known as Australia's Eurovision representatives from 2023. But prior to their crowning moment and long overdue breakthrough, they spent the best part of two decades doing the hard yards as a prog-rock band, releasing seven albums. Being from Western Australia and in somewhat of a niche scene, the band had to put even more hard yards to tour all over Australia and across the world and promote their music.


Danny and the band - Simone Dow, Alex Canion, Scott Kay and Ashley Doodkorte - have always been massive Eurovision fans. They submitted entries for the first two years of SBS' former national selection contest Australia Decides in 2019 and 2020, before getting their chance to compete in the final year of the contest in 2022 with their song Dreamer.


It was the runaway winner of the public vote, but Voyager were pipped overall by three points by Sheldon Riley with his song Not The Same, and didn't get to travel to Turin that year for Eurovision.



The following year, SBS internally selected Voyager to represent Australia at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom with their song Promise.


The band won the second semi-final, and finished 9th in the Grand Final, which was won that year by Sweden's Loreen and her song Tattoo.


Following Eurovision, Voyager returned home for a sold-out tour and released their eighth album Fearless in Love, until life decided to throw a massive curveball.


Cancer diagnosis


In late 2023, Danny and Voyager's world came to a halt when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.


The band had to cancel their tour where they were promoting their 2023 album Fearless in Love.


In 2024 he was given the honour of being Australia's jury spokesman for the Contest in Malmo, Sweden - delivering Australia's jury votes which were topped by 12 points for Ireland's Bambi Thug.


Voyager have played a handful of live shows when Danny's health has allowed in their home state of WA, and last year they made their return with two headlining shows, and earlier this year, they played the Perth leg of the Froff and Fury metal festival.


They also released a single last year, Seen Better Days, giving an insight into Danny's cancer battle.


Upon its release, Danny wrote on his socials:


"It won't come as a surprise that 'Seen Better Days' is a personal account of the 18 months of hell, through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery that I have endured. Embracing the beautiful love and support I have received from friends, family and fans while often putting on a brave face in the horrid abyss of stage 4 cancer is no easy feat, so I felt it was right to put it to words and music."


Danny has also been working on a TV series focused on peoples' love affairs with their cars, as well as some spots with Classic Cars and Coffee Perth.


SBS commentary spot and the future


Last month, Danny was announced as part of the SBS commentary team for Eurovision 2026, supporting Courtney Act. He got the call-up after last year's co-host, Tony Armstrong, was unavailable this year due to other commitments.


Danny shared his excitement on this announcement with a post on his socials:

"2026, baby I'm back! Not as a fan, not as a performer, but as a special guest commentator alongside the fabulous Courtney Act. I'll be bringing you all the amazing action from Eurovision in Vienna for the 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision nation this is going to be epic!!"

Danny warmed up for his commentary stint by joining Courtney to host the Australian Embassy Eurovision Celebration in Vienna, which featured a performance by our 2026 entrant Delta Goodrem.


Voyager are set to play a handful of European shows later this year, including a festival appearance in the United Kingdom - dates and more info below.


How to watch and listen to Danny


You can catch Danny co-hosting with Courtney Act on SBS' coverage of this year's Eurovision contest from Vienna, Australia throughout the week. The schedule is:


Live Early Morning Broadcasts (AEST)

  • Semi-Final 1: Wednesday, 13 May at 5am

  • Semi-Final 2 (with Australia): Friday, 15 May at 5am

  • Grand Final: Sunday, 17 May at 5am

Prime-Time Repeats (SBS Main Channel & On Demand)

  • Semi-Final 1: Friday, 15 May at 7:30pm

  • Semi-Final 2: Saturday, 16 May at 7:30pm

  • Grand Final: Sunday, 17 May at 7:30pm


Voyager's up coming shows


If you're in Europe (or heading there soon), you can catch Voyager performing at these upcoming shows:



For continued updates on all Eurovision 2026 news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet

1 Comment

Veronika Lot
Veronika Lot
May 13

After trying different platforms, I’ve become more convinced that convenience and stability matter more than any bonuses. When a site loads quickly, doesn’t freeze during use, and makes it easy to move between sections, the whole experience feels much more comfortable. I’ve been using Fruity Chance more often for exactly that reason — everything runs smoothly, and the interface stays fairly simple without unnecessary clutter. For users in the UK, that kind of setup is especially useful, since it allows them to log in and start using the platform without dealing with long loading times or confusing navigation. It’s also helpful when key information and terms are easy to find instead of being buried in different pages. In the end,…

Edited
Like
bottom of page