Australia | 2019 participation confirmed and possible National Final
Michael Ebeid, the Outgoing Managing Director for SBS, the official Australian broadcaster for Eurovision, has confirmed that Australia will be taking part in Eurovision 2019 in Israel and has also hinted that for the first time in Australia's Eurovision history, they might host a national final to chose their representative. Speaking to TV Tonight, an Australian TV Blog, Michael had this to say:
"I would love to get Australian's 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."
Michael went on to say:
"It's a hell of a lot of pressure and we've seen lots 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 record label."
Michael mentioned that all of Australia's previous four participants have all found fame from talent shows such as Pop Idol and X Factor, and all of them are signed with the record label SONY. He explains that: "...at the end of the day, what I look for is the best artist possible and not the record label. Sony has just happened each year to put forward the best person possible."
So would you like to see an Australian national final for Eurovision 2019? And who would you like to see take part in it? Let us know in the comments below!
