By LINDSEY GREEN
It’s implied by the title that entrants in the Eurovision Song Contest will be from Europe.
However, as Guy Sebastian gets set to represent Australia at the famous singing contest this weekend, it seems as if geography isn’t the only thing deciding which countries can participate.
Sebastian will advance straight to the grand final of the contest on Sunday with his song Tonight Again without having to compete in the first two semi-finals.
This puts him on a level playing field with the 10 countries that qualify from each semi-final, the host country Austria and the "big five" Eurovision countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, who will also be competing in the grand final.
Australia was invited to compete at the 60th anniversary of the competition as a one-off gesture for our long-standing support for the event, which has been broadcast on SBS for 30 years.
This gesture has many people questioning whether Australia should be competing in the event and also wondering what chance of success Australia actually has.
Melbourne University Eurovision expert Professor Allison Lewis said opinions were a bit divided on the issue. Prof Lewis is co-ordinator of Eurovisions, a study unit offered at the university devoted entirely to the Eurovision song contest.
“There’s a few people saying, ‘what is Australia doing in the competition, don’t they realise they’re not part of Europe?’,” Prof Lewis said.
But entry into Eurovision is permitted for countries in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) rather than strictly for countries on the European continent.
For example, Israel made its debut into the competition in 1973 despite not being in Europe. Similarly, not all European countries participate even though they are able to, with the small nation of Liechtenstein never participating in the competition.
SBS is an associate member of the EBU and so the invitation for Australia to compete isn’t entirely unreasonable. And those at the contest have generally welcomed Australia's inclusion.
“I think generally Europeans think it’s a bit of fun, but there has been a little bit of a strange reaction from … the UK,” Prof Lewis said, a subtle reference to comments such as that from British chat show host Graham Norton, who said Sebastian's inclusion was "nonsense".
Yet despite the support overseas, Australian jury member Ash London, a popular Sydney radio and TV presenter, thinks Australians at home might still need some convincing.
“I think maybe they won’t take it seriously until they watch the grand final and see just how big a deal it is. Two hundred million people around the world watch Eurovision and Guy’s performance will be incredible. I think there will be a sense of Australian pride that might shine through,” London said.
SBS was responsible for choosing Australia’s representative for this year’s competition and followed the theme of former Australian Idol winners after Jessica Mauboy was featured as an interval act at the competition last year in Copenhagen.
Despite being a one-off "wildcard" entrant, the odds are now in Sebastian’s favour, with some websites putting him in fourth place behind Sweden, Italy and Russia to take out the title.
Prof Lewis said it was SBS's decision to make.
“I think they chose someone who was really experienced and who’s just someone we don’t have to worry about, someone we know can get on stage and not be fazed by performing to 200 million viewers,” Prof Lewis said.
London agreed. “I feel quietly confident that he’s going to do really well and word on the street in Vienna is that people are really connecting with him,” she said.
The national jury consists of London and four others all with experience in the music and entertainment industry. The jury vote makes up 50 per cent of the final vote and the rest from audience votes.
Eurovision has long been criticized for being too political, as voting is seen more as a demonstration of political alliances than support for the music.
As this is Australia’s first year in the competition it’s unclear how Australians will vote, and what countries might support Australia.
“I can’t foresee any political voting happening; I think most Australians will just vote for their favourite,” London said.
Prof Lewis said because Australia didn't belong to any natural voting bloc, it was going to be a bit unpredictable how the voting for Australia panned out.
"I predict that the Scandinavian countries will vote for us because we like the same sort of music,” she said.
For many European countries, however, Eurovision remains a political spectacle just as much as a musical one.
The theme for this year’s event is "Building Bridges", a loaded sentiment following last year’s competition when the Russian entry was booed.
However, it seems public perception of Russia is beginning to change at least in terms of music with some betting websites putting them in the top three to win the competition.
London said Russia was usually booed, but this year might be different.
“Their performance was a real standout in the first semi-final and they voted really highly, so maybe that shows that the quality that the performance might be shining through,” she said.
Both Russia and Australia are predicted to be favourites for the grand final, but if Guy does win on Sunday night there still won’t be a Eurovision Melbourne 2016. Instead it’s expected that Australia will co-host next year’s event in another European country.
Prof Lewis said some people would like to see Australia involved every year.
“It could be a regular thing, or it could just be a one-off. I think it would be really exciting if it happened every year,” Prof Lewis said.
Watch the Eurovision Song Contest on SBS 1 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from 7.30pm (delayed telecast). The show is live in Vienna, Austria, from 9pm Saturday night CET, 5am Sunday Melbourne time.