In 1955, the European Broadcasting Union ambitiously conjured up the idea of an international light entertainment program, which would be televised simultaneously in all participating countries, using a terrestrial microwave network. One year later, four million viewers across post-war Europe and the United Kingdom crowded around television sets in their homes, bars and shop windows to catch a glimpse of the new phenomenon that would come to captivate audiences around the globe - the Eurovision Song Contest.

 

Since its debut five decades ago, Eurovision has featured over 1,100 songs and provided a platform for several well-known artists, including ABBA, Celine Dion and Cliff Richards. 

 

This year, 43 countries will compete in Vienna, Austria, after drag act Conchita Wurst won her country the right to host with her win last year. For the first time, the definitely not-European Australia will be one of them.

 

Despite the fact that our first entrant, Guy Sebastian, will only compete this year, SBS has been broadcasting the contest since 1983. By 2009, they were the only non-competing country producing their own commentary. 

 

Eurovision parties during the broadcast are held in nightlife venues, such as Sydney’s Oxford Art Factory, and living rooms across the nation. However, our love for Eurovision goes deeper than fancy fog machines and blinding sequins.

 

“So many Australians have some European heritage,” says Professor Alison Lewis, the coordinator of EURO10002, a unit of study on Eurovision  at the University of Melbourne. “Although even those of Asian backgrounds seem to like it,”

 

“It seems quite exotic to Australians, and it displays such rich cultural diversity – from the choice of musical style, the choice of language, the costumes and the staging – that it is never boring. After Conchita Wurst [Eurovision] could even be seen as championing minority rights and alternative sexualities too.”

 

Several Australians with family ties to European countries can offer up stories of Eurovision that date back to as long as they can remember.

 

“My Oma was Swiss and my Opa was Polish, so we have family sprinkled throughout Europe. My brother and I are Swiss citizens so we feel a connection to Europe as well,” says Geneva Sekula, lifelong Eurovision fan and President of the University of Sydney’s German Kultur Klub. 

 

“I'm always happy when Switzerland/Germany/Poland pulls off a great act in Eurovision because I feel like I can claim it as a personal win.”

 

Eurovision is something that’s always been a part of Geneva’s life, with her parents avidly watching each year.

 

“Their love of the show has been passed along to me and I've had a great time creating my own Eurovision memories,” she says.

 

Sekula says she came to truly understand the power of Eurovision when she watched the contest during a study exchange to Berlin.

 

"There were people from all over Europe cheering on their own countries and making scathing comments about everyone else, and much laughter and beer. That year they had a shout out to Australia as well and we had a great time outing ourselves as the Australians in the group - I can only imagine how much more fun it would have been that year if Australia had a contestant."

 

Australia’s entry this year will create a major decision for some of its viewers: do they support their country of heritage or Australia? 

 

That’s not to say that Australians have never competed at the contest.

 

Newcastle-born Jane Comerford migrated to Germany in 1978. After joining country music band Texas Lightning in 2005, Comerford penned songs for the group, including their pop hit No, No Never, which earned them the number one spot on the German charts and a Eurovision nomination. For an Australian who had never heard of Eurovision prior to being nominated, accepting the offer was a big decision to make.

 

"Our feelings about the nomination and whether we should participate were mixed," says Comerford. "For many years, the Eurovision Song Contest was considered extremely cheesy and no serious musician wanted to be connected with it. In the case of Texas Lightning, since we had a concept that was humorous anyway, we decided we had nothing to lose by competing in the pre-selection process."

 

Despite being accustomed to performing in front of crowds, Comerford admits that performing at Eurovision was quite daunting, especially after the thought of millions of people around the globe, not just in Germany, would be watching their performance.

 

"The fear was justified," says Comerford. "Intuition must have pulled me through!"

 

Even though Australians like Comerford have participated prior to this year, Comerford suspects Australia’s official entry could upset those traditionalist Eurovision fans.

 

"There are people who would like to keep the competition European only, and others who think it should be opened up to other countries as well," says Comerford. "Australia’s entering could become quite controversial amongst certain fans."

 

Professor Lewis offers a contrary view. She believes those in Europe will be supportive of our participation, because of links to family members who have migrated.

 

The interesting thing will be how the voting blocks operate and whose votes Australia will get. It isn’t anyone’s natural or geographical ally," says Professor Lewis.

 

"But many countries will have histories of migration linking them to Australia and they might get votes from those countries where family ties are still strong—like Italy and Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, the Baltic states or Germany. My prediction is that coming into the contest as an outsider, and being a small non-threatening power like Australia, could translate into votes. 

 

“Underdogs often do well."