February 10, 201510 yr Author To be honest, I'm so bloody past basic straight people in this country thinking the contest's a joke that I couldn't really care less what they think - a lot of them always will, and geographical reasons are pretty light 'what a JOKE!' reasons compared to, I don't know, the late 60s when La La La and 4 winners in the same year happened back to back.
February 10, 201510 yr Up until about 5 posts in I thought this was a joke. Wouldn't it be funny is they win!
February 10, 201510 yr I knew Australia loves eurovision and wants to fit in but I didn't expect this to happen !!! It will be a bit weird seeing a non european country in the contest but I'd be interested as to what Australia would send.
February 10, 201510 yr They need to get Delta to write another Believe Again/Mistaken Identity/Hunters and the Wolves and BOOM, Saade's dreams will be left in tatters for another year.
February 10, 201510 yr Although if we're taking Europe as a culture then quite frankly Australia makes more sense as an entry than Russia/Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia (and the fact that basically the same thing is already in place for Israel & Cyprus, neither of which are geographically in Europe).
February 10, 201510 yr Author They need to get Delta to write another Believe Again/Mistaken Identity/Hunters and the Wolves and BOOM, Saade's dreams will be left in tatters for another year. MANS will be taking care of that ANYWAY
February 10, 201510 yr Also, THIS IS THE HOLLY VALANCE COMEBACK WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! I KNOW IT!
February 10, 201510 yr Sydney (why not Canberra though since it's the capital?) will not be hosting even if they win. Like the article said. Anyway, AMAZING news. I'm SO disappointed I will not be going this year like I initially planned :(
February 10, 201510 yr Author Canberra wouldn't get it even if it were going down there as there isn't really much there outside of a parliament building and Australia's civil service!
February 10, 201510 yr Author LIVING 4 Stu Heritage on this *.* http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2...-contest-europe The Eurovision song contest is a festival of inclusiveness. Conceived in the messy aftermath of the second world war as a means to reunite a fractured continent, it stands to this day as a reflection of Europe’s progressive liberalism; opening its arms to everyone, be they gay or transsexual or singing binmen who couldn’t win The X Factor a decade ago. So long as you want to join the party, you’re in. Everyone’s welcome. Within reason, obviously. Because now they’re letting Australia enter Eurovision and I don’t know what to think any more. Eurovision, it turns out, is wildly popular in Australia. Its annual broadcast on SBS has steadily grown an audience over the past 30 years, with last year’s contest drawing more viewers than ever before. And Australia too, it has to be said, is a lot like Europe; in that there are lots of white people there, and everything is slightly too expensive, and sometimes you can go for months on end without ever seeing a flattering haircut. However you look at it – economically, politically, cartographically – Australia is simply not a European country. It’s too far away, and too hot, and there are too many poisonous animals that exist purely to murder you. On that basis alone, Australia should be kept at arm’s length. If they like Eurovision so much, they should start their own song contest with New Zealand, Vanuatu and the assembled population of the Bismarck archipelago. It could be just like Russia’s Intervision Song Contest, but better because it wouldn’t have been assembled as a fiercely conservative kneejerk reaction to Eurovision’s homosexual decadence. Besides, there’s a very real danger that an Australian presence would open the floodgates and unleash a torrent of other unwelcome interlopers. Because Eurovision isn’t just broadcast in Australia, you know. It’s also broadcast in America. And Egypt. And South Korea. And Hong Kong and Jordan and India. Do we really want to see more people in ironic fancy dress, singing a bad pop song called Bingy Bongy Boo? Do we? Because the Eurovision Song Contest already goes on for about three hours longer than it should. If we start letting everyone join in, there’s a perfectly reasonable chance that the show would never actually end. Then again, to deny Australia inclusion would be to bow to the grotty, sinister, jobsworth pedantry that already blights so much of modern life. To ban Australia because it isn’t a European country would be to side with all the wet-mouthed pencil-twirlers who pipe up on Mobo day every year to remind us that technically all music is of black origin. It’d be to side with anyone who’s ever asked why there isn’t an International Men’s Day. It’d leave a bad taste in the mouth. It’d be staunchly non-Eurovision. In fact, it’d all be a bit Ukip. And that wouldn’t do at all. But what if Australia won, you ask? Would everyone in Europe then have to send a representative to the other side of the world next year, to perform their songs in an echoey arena to an unresponsive audience at 8am? To which I reply: where’s your sense of adventure? And also: that’s really unlikely to happen, due to block voting and the fact that the current number one record in Australia sounds like a regional cocktail premix manufacturer’s hold music. So if you want in, Australia, you’re in. We’ll welcome you with open arms, for that is the Eurovision way. Just, you know, keep your song nice and short because I’ll probably end up having to liveblog it and I don’t want to be up all night.
February 10, 201510 yr So many things wrong with that article. So many things wrong with all those naysayers. Beautiful gesture giving SBS this little one-off treat. I hope they go all out with it. Dazzle us with a singing kangaroo. Or Dannii. Or BETTER. And I hope they win so they can host it in London next year together with the BBC. Ha! (or like, Lisbon since Portugal has been taking part for a millennia and that beautiful city has yet to grace us with its sunny hosting skills~)
February 10, 201510 yr What! I legitimately had to check we hadn't timeskipped to the first of April. Well well well, I honestly looked at the date at the bottom of my screen too! Very happy we get another entry although I do wonder what other non-participating countries are going to think - haven't the likes of Kazakhstan broadcast the contest for several years now and actually want to participate themselves? Very excited to see what they come up with though, and surely if Australia somehow won (that certainly would shut up the political/neighbour voting moaners!) their first choice to host would possibly be the UK considering our ties with them (and our flag is on their flag)? It's all very exciting though! :lol: I hope they come up with a good song that gives them a chance of winning! Definitely a fantastic publicity stunt as well. And 27 countries in the final - that's a record breaker surely! :o
February 10, 201510 yr Author So many things wrong with that article. I could quibble with it but the SPIRIT of it is far nicer than the prissiness of a lot of the fan community in response to this. Who honestly gives a fuck that they don't fall into an arbitrarily chosen geographical box?
February 11, 201510 yr Ugh, no reason I have read has convinced me this is in any way a good idea. It's in the bloody NAME, EUROvision Song Contest, just because they are big into the contest doesn't mean GEOGRAPHY is suddenly null and void. I'm not even worried about it setting a precedent and I have every confidence it will deliver a good song, but it just seems utterly pointless and stuntish, to grab headlines and/or attention. This, I'm sure, reads like I think of Eurovision as something other than a gaudy, spectacle, but if there was at least SOME justification, geographically, for it I would be fine with it. Like a northern African nation, or something bordering a currently competing nation in Asia (which is why the likes of Israel and stuff don't bother me at all).
February 11, 201510 yr Members of the European Broadcasting Union include broadcasters from Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya, Jordan and, of course, Israel.
February 11, 201510 yr Ugh, no reason I have read has convinced me this is in any way a good idea. It's in the bloody NAME, EUROvision Song Contest, just because they are big into the contest doesn't mean GEOGRAPHY is suddenly null and void. I'm not even worried about it setting a precedent and I have every confidence it will deliver a good song, but it just seems utterly pointless and stuntish, to grab headlines and/or attention. This, I'm sure, reads like I think of Eurovision as something other than a gaudy, spectacle, but if there was at least SOME justification, geographically, for it I would be fine with it. Like a northern African nation, or something bordering a currently competing nation in Asia (which is why the likes of Israel and stuff don't bother me at all). It's GAY CHRISTMAS! Let the Aussies sit at our table and have a piece of that glittery turkey for once!
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