Why Rhonda Burchmore should represent Australia at Eurovision 2026

An Australian cabaret icon, musical theatre powerhouse, and veritable national treasure — who better than Rhonda Burchmore to represent Australia on Europe's most glittering stage?

With the Eurovision New Year on Monday and the contest ever closer, we at Aussievision continue our series on who would be best to represent our country at Eurovision 2026.

This week, I make the case for one of Australia's campest and most glamourous stage icons, the outrageously glittering Rhonda Burchmore.

Who is Rhonda Burchmore?

With her towering presence, razor-sharp wit, and show-stopping voice, Rhonda Burchmore would lean into the the flair, camp, and charisma that Eurovision has delivered for decades.

If you’ve spent any time watching Australian entertainment over the past forty years, chances are you already know the name Rhonda Burchmore. She’s one of those rare performers who has managed to become a true household name down under.

Rhonda got her start in show business as a young performer in Sydney, where her striking height, charisma, and powerhouse voice quickly set her apart.

After training in both singing and acting, she landed her first professional stage roles in Australia before breaking through internationally with a starring turn in London’s West End in Sugar Babies, performing alongside Hollywood legends Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller.

Back home, her regular appearances on the long-running variety program Hey Hey It’s Saturday in the late 1980s and early 1990s made her the household name she is today.

Week after week, Rhonda brought glamour, cheekiness, and dazzling vocals to living rooms across the country. For many Australians, this was where she cemented herself as more than just a theatre star. Rhonda became a familiar, beloved personality who could entertain across genres and generations.

From there, Rhonda’s career blossomed into a mix of stage, cabaret, television, and recording. But it was that combination of international theatre credibility and mainstream Aussie TV exposure that made her a national icon.

To this day, when Australians hear the name Rhonda Burchmore, they think of sequins, sass, and an unmistakable voice... and maybe Ossie Ostrich.

Rhonda also played Tanya in the original Australia production of Mamma Mia (a Eurovision connection), a role she was practically made for ... those legs!

Rhonda as Tanya during the Does Your Mother Know number from Mamma Mia!

A Eurovision fit: Help Me, Rhonda

There are many Eurovisions: there's music chart Eurovision, there's the fan-community's Eurovision-bubble Eurovision, there's casual-fan Eurovision and there's camp Eurovision. Sometimes these Eurovisions overlap and that's when magic happens: think Conchita Wurst, Verka Serduchka, and even someone like Käärijä.

Rhonda belongs, hands down, to camp Eurovision. Eurovision isn’t just a song contest. It’s about spectacle, storytelling, and moments that make you say, “Only at Eurovision.” Rhonda’s entire career has been about delivering those moments.

Her cabaret acts (from Sophisticated Ladies of Jazz to Partners in Crime) are sparkling showcases of glamour, wit, and powerhouse vocals. She knows how to build a narrative on stage, pull the audience in with a wink, and deliver a finale that leaves the crowd breathless.

Eurovision thrives on theatricality, camp, and drama. Whether she leans into high-voltage disco, sultry jazz, or a power ballad dripping with emotion, Rhonda has the versatility to give us an entry that would live up to a tradition both Australia and Eurovision share: poking fun at ourselves.

Eurovision connections

In 1993, Rhonda released a cover of Johnny Logan's Eurovision classic Hold Me Now. She debuted the single on Hey Hey It's Saturday and enjoyed some chart success, reaching number 55 in Australia. Rhonda’s version adds a touch of cabaret glamour, with her rich vocals and emotional delivery giving the track a new dimension. The cover not only showcased her versatility as a performer but also linked her directly to Eurovision history. As mentioned above, Rhonda also played Tanya in the original Australian production of Mamma Mia, the famous ABBA jukebox musical! But, she also just finished a run in the original Australian production of Sister Act, staring as Sister Mary Lazarus alongside Eurovision: Australia Decides alum, Casey Donavon.

Left to right: Rhonda Burchmore, Casey Donavon, Genevieve Lemon from the Australian production of Sister Act

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Australia is Eurovision furniture at this point. We have the room to experiment and so far we've tried indie pop, power ballads, and contemporary pop-rock.

Maybe it’s time we gave Europe what it secretly craves: full-blown theatrical camp delivered by a woman who was born to own a stage?

Rhonda Burchmore isn’t just an entertainer, she’s a walking, singing, strutting reminder of everything we love about performance.

With her decades of star quality, her cabaret-soaked charisma, and her knack for transforming three minutes into a moment, she’d be a perfect fit for Eurovision.

After all, Eurovision is performance art at its most flamboyant, and who embodies that spirit more than Rhonda?

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