Delta Goodrem propels Australia to Eurovision finals after a three-year hiatus.
In a dazzling display at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, the Australian singer-songwriter captivated audiences with her semi-final performance of “Eclipse” on Friday morning.
Thanks to a popular vote, Australia advances to the finals, which are scheduled for Saturday night (Sunday morning AEST).
Joining Australia in the finals are entries from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Norway, Romania, Malta, Cyprus, Albania, Denmark, and Czechia.
These second-round victors will face off against the initial round’s successful countries: Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Australia’s journey in Eurovision began in 2015 when the nation was granted a wild card entry.
There have been 95,000 tickets sold for this year’s event to fans from 75 countries and territories, and the European Broadcasting Union expects it will be the largest live audience in years.
Goodrem spoke to SBS News’ chief international correspondent Ben Lewis on Thursday ahead of her performance, telling him that she was “excited” to take her song to the Austrian stage and that Eurovision is a world of its own.
“It’s really special, it’s a really incredible way to step into the music where people can get to know the songs and support the songs … It’s really amazing to learn all the different aspects of this,” Goodrem said.
The singer’s pop power ballad is an original track written by Goodrem in collaboration with Grammy-winning Swedish songwriter Jonas Myrin and Los Angeles-based songwriter Ferras Alqaisi.
Performing on a raised platform, Goodrem joked that the stage theatrics took her “a bit higher than I realised”.
She added that she felt her fellow Australian icon and Eurovision predecessor, Olivia Newton-John, would be “watching over” the proceedings.
On the idea that she might deliver Australia its first-ever Eurovision victory, Goodrem argued the country would make an “amazing” host and that Europeans would simply have to get up at 4am — as Australians are accustomed to doing each year.
The winner of Eurovision’s country of origin will traditionally host the event the following year.
Last year, some 2.2 million Australians tuned into the singing competition.
How to watch Eurovision in Australia
The second semi-final will be broadcast in Australia at 5am AEST on Friday 15 May.
SBS will also broadcast the grand final live at 5am AEST on Sunday 17 May, with the SBS News online team covering all the action in a live blog.
For those who want a sleep-in — or to relive the excitement — SBS will air prime-time ‘access all areas’ broadcasts from 15–17 May at 7.30pm AEST.
You can watch the broadcasts live on SBS and SBS On Demand.
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