"As a beautiful woman with big hair and a bigger voice, armed with a nonsensical, precision-engineered power ballad, Delta Goodrem was always going to appeal to the camp tastes of Eurovision; she's Olivia Newton-John 2.0. And after her performance of Eclipse in Eurovision 2026's second semi-final on Thursday, Australia's odds shot up from fourth to second, rocketing past Greece and Denmark to rank behind the favourite to win, Finland."
"Australia's pre-eminent scholar of Eurovision, Jess Carniel, who is an associate professor at the University of Southern Queensland, predicts Australia will make the top five, bar any disasters. I don't like being overly enthusiastic about it because I'm the kiss of death if I say they're gonna win, they don't win, Carniel says. Finland's probably got it, which means I've just condemned them to lose. So congratulations Australia!"
"Why is Australia included in Eurovision in the first place? For one, we Australians love ridiculousness. Eurovision watch parties were popular in Australia long before we joined the competition in 2015, despite the crushing time difference. The often-touted line is that Australia's viewership is driven by its European migrant population but this doesn't entirely hold water in 2026."
"It's driven by migrants across the board, says Carniel, who literally wrote the book on this topic (titled Understanding the Eurovision Song Contest in Multicultural Australia). A lot of Asian Australians love Eurovision because it plugs into their cultures. In my research I got talking to somebody who was from a Filipino background and their family loved watching Eurovision in Australia because it reminded them of the song competitions they had in the Philippines. Our ties to Europe was a specific narrative that helped to build the business case for us to join in."
Delta Goodrem’s performance of “Eclipse” in Eurovision 2026’s second semi-final boosted Australia’s odds from fourth to second, placing it behind Finland. A Eurovision scholar predicts Australia will reach the top five unless major problems occur. The scholar notes that declaring a winner can be risky because outcomes may not match predictions. Australia’s participation is linked to local enthusiasm for Eurovision’s absurdity and to strong viewership among migrant communities. The viewership is not explained solely by European migrants, since migrants across many backgrounds engage with the contest. Cultural connections, including song-competition traditions from countries such as the Philippines, also support Australian interest. Ties to Europe helped build the business case for joining Eurovision, and the European Broadcasting Union allowed Australia to participate.
#eurovision-2026 #australia-in-eurovision #delta-goodrem #odds-and-predictions #multicultural-viewership
Read at www.theguardian.com
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