Australia is a country located in the Pacific Ocean, neighbouring the countries of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Vanuatu, comprised of a mainland continent, the island of Tasmania, and a scattering of smaller islands. It is not, as far as we know, a part of, nor anywhere near, Europe.

However, in the spirit of globalisation, it has been confirmed that for the first time ever, Australia will compete in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest. No, we didn’t misspell ‘Austria’. Australia has actually been invited to compete in Eurovision 2015, which will be held in May.

Last year, Australia made headlines across Europe when we sent Jessica Mauboy to the event in Denmark for a special guest performance. It was apparently well received, because the European Broadcasting Union and the host broadcaster, Austria’s state television network ORF, have invited our SBS to send a competitor.

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According to ABC News, Australia will compete as a one-off wild card entry in the final stage of the competition, bringing the total number of countries competing in Vienna to 40. And yes, since Australia will be an official competitor, Australian residents will be allowed to vote for the first time.

SBS, who’ve been broadcasting the world famous song contest for 30 years, secured the deal and said the successful candidate who will represent Australia will be selected and revealed soon. They will represent the green and gold in what will be the 60th anniversary of the competition, which attracts a worldwide audience of millions each year.

While the news has mostly been met with cheers, some have taken to social media to bemoan the entry of a country that’s, y’know, not actually European into Eurovision, while others are merely confused about the strange wild card entry. But considering Aussies consider Eurovision a major guilty pleasure, it’s not too surprising.

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