Philippines' relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest

By James Boyton

Magandang araw sa ating mga kaibigang Pilipino, at Maligayang Araw ng Kalayaan sa inyo!

Happy Philippines Independence Day!

Philippines Independence Day is an annual national holiday in the Philippines observed on June 12, commemorating the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898 .

Although the Philippines does not compete in Eurovision, the Philippines have some truly dedicated fans and have had some association with the Contest over the years.

One of their Eurovision stars is the Austrian born, but with heritage from the Philippines, Vincent Bueno.

The singer started his career when he entered the show 'Musical! Die Show' which he won in 2008, and since then then he has bounced back between Austria and the Philippines.

Bueno’s Eurovision career started in 2016 where he entered Austria's national final with his song 'All We Need is Love'.

The performance was a show stopper as he entered the stage on a hoverboard, however, 2016 was not his year, he was beaten by ZOË and 'Loin d'ici'.

Bueno did not have to wait long until he was selected to represent Austria this year with his song 'Alive'.

Sadly he was unable to compete due to the cancellation of the event. but he has luckily been selected for next year's contest in 2021.

Another artist from the Philippines with a Eurovision connection is Bella Santiago. She was born in the Philippines moved to Romania in 2016 with her boyfriend.

After being on multiple television shows in the Philippines, she made an impact in her new homeland on 'Romania's Got Talent' where she started getting some traction in her singing career.

A short time later she entered Romania’s X Factor in 2018, going on to win the show!

Santiago then entered Romania's national final 'Selecţia Naţională' as a wild card (after an artist pulled out) with her song 'Army of Love'.

She went into the Grand Final as one of the favourites and put on an impactful performance but fell short placing 3rd behind Ester Peony with her 'On a Sunday'.

As the contest grows in The Philippines, we hope and expect to see even more representation from this passionate country, and we can't wait!