Australia is probably the perfect symbol of what the Eurovision Song Contest is, a show of brotherhood and friendship between nations through the common language of music.
After Morocco in 1980, Australia is the second country outside of Eurasia to participate in the contest and this year will be its fourth time.
The geographical position of Australia could raise some questions. What happens if it wins? In the event that Australia emerges triumphant from the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) has confirmed that the faraway country would not host the event in the Southern Hemisphere, but would instead co-host the contest in Europe.
This year, Australia will be represented by Jessica Mauboy, a pop singer, songwriter, and actress. She originally hails from Darwin, but her mother has roots in two indigenous tribes who lived around the cape of Far North Queensland, while her father is from West Timor in Indonesia.
Jessica rose to fame in 2006 when she captured the heart of the nation as a 16-year-old on Australian Idol. Since then she has released five top-10 albums, collaborated with Beyoncé, Ricky Martin, Flo Rida, Snoop Dogg, Pitbull and performed for Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres.
She’s not a new entry in the Eurovision world. In fact, she made history back in 2014 as the first non-European solo artist to represent Australia as a guest performer in Copenhagen. “I wasn’t competing but it did give me a taste of how brilliant Eurovision was. I love the Eurovision Song Contest, and I have since I was a little girl.” she said.
On 11 December 2017, Mauboy was confirmed as Australia’s representative for the upcoming contest with the song We Got Love: the story of how music can lift the human spirit.
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