SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid has confirmed that Australia has been invited back to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. Last year, the country participated with “We Got Love”, performed by Jessica Mauboy.
As reported by David Knox, the editor of TV Tonight, the news was followed by another announcement by Ebeid wherein he hinted towards the major shakeup in the selection process for the competition. Moving away from the internal selection procedure, the authority is now planning to involve Australians in selecting their participant for the contest:
“I would love to get Australians more involved in selecting our artist to represent us. We don’t have the money to do The Voice or Australia’s Got Talent, and it wouldn’t work with an emerging artist. But we are looking to do something a bit different with some experienced artists.”
The selection body not only seems to focus on the quality of the participant but also on her/his background as an artist. Looking for an association with strong labels will allow the country to send in a complete team to support the artist. As explained by Ebeid:
“It’s a hell of a lot of pressure and we’ve seen a lot of people freeze on stage when they get up there. There’s 14,000 people in the auditorium and 200 million at home. So you need someone with the experience to get out there and own the stage, with a machine behind them of choreographers, set designers, costume and a record label.”
Earlier this month, we reported the announcement of the host city and the dates for the contest. This time, the competition will be hosted by Tel Aviv, the cultural capital of Israel. It will be interesting to see the line-up for the contest.
Which artists do you think can the selection body choose as the potential participants for Eurovision Song Contest? Share your thoughts via tweet @CelebMix.