The Gold Coast has landed another TV event with Eurovision: Australia Decides to select Australia’s entrant into Eurovision 2019.

As recently revealed on TV Tonight, SBS is looking for Australia to help choose our representative for Tel Aviv next May.

Outgoing managing director Michael Ebeid said, “We’ve been doing it this way for 5 years and we’re looking at how we can up the ante and mix it up a little bit.

“I would love to get Australians 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.”

The event follows similar national finals by European nations such as the UK’s Eurovision: You Decide and Sweden’s Melodifestivalen and Italy’s long-running San Remo Music Festival.

The event will be held at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre across February 8th and 9th (the latter is televised). Producers Blink TV will choose a shortlist of songs and match artists. A jury and and TV audience will vote for the winner.

SBS Acting Managing Director James Taylor said: “SBS has been the Australian home of the Eurovision Song Contest for 35 years and 2019 will mark Australia’s fifth year of competing in the event. As our country’s passion for Eurovision continues to grow, we are inundated by fans wanting to have their say in choosing who represents Australia on the world’s biggest stage.

“This will be the first time that Australians can enjoy a Eurovision show live on home soil and we are delighted to begin this next chapter in Australia’s Eurovision journey with our long-term production partner Blink TV and new partners in Queensland – the Queensland Government via Tourism and Events Queensland and City of Gold Coast.”

Australian Head of Delegation and Director of Blink TV Paul Clarke said: “This will be the first time our huge fan base will be able to see a live Eurovision show in an Australian venue – the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, as well as live on SBS. We have great plans to make the Gold Coast Eurovision Central in February 2019, so with spandex and sequins at the ready, it will be an awesome show!”

Myf Warhurst said: “In 1994, a band now known as Silverchair won a competition run by SBS’s Nomad program, with support from Triple J, with their hit song Tomorrow – now an Aussie classic. Can we back it up with another worldwide smash hit?

“Eurovision – Australia Decides is a great opportunity for songwriters, both published and unpublished, to show us what they’ve got and for a suite of Australian artists to bring these songs to life on stage in February.”

Joel Creasey said: “I can’t wait to be part of the first ever Eurovision selection show in the Southern Hemisphere and find the next Aussie classic, up there with the likes of Farnsy’s You’re the Voice, Braithwaite’s The Horses or my personal favourite, the seminal debut single from Bardot, Poison.

“It’s over to you Australia – let’s give Europe our best!”

SBS is now accepting song submissions until November 4. There are no restrictions on the number of songs composers and songwriters, both published and unpublished, can submit.

Song must:

be an original work;
have a duration no longer than 3 minutes and a minimum of 2 minutes;
not have been made publicly available;
include vocals;
be submitted on or between 14 October 2018 and 4 November 2018.

Composer(s)/Songwriter(s)

must be Australian citizens or Permanent Residents;
can be published or unpublished;
must agree to grant all rights necessary for the song to be used in the Show and ESC
agree to Terms & Conditions by submitting a song