It’s cheesy, it’s camp, and it’s back for another year of questionable fashion and wild singing: Eurovision 2023 takes place this week, trying to bond Europe – and Australia – through music.
The action heads to Liverpool due to last year’s winners, Ukraine, being unable to host due to the ongoing Russian conflict.
The theme this year is ‘United By Music’, while Australia will be hoping for a better showing than last year when Sheldon Riley finished in 15th place.
The remaining stages of Eurovision 2023 are as follows:
Semi Final 2 – Thursday, May 11th
Grand Final – Saturday, May 13th
And if you want to follow all the action from Australia, SBS is the channel to watch. The network will be covering the entire Eurovision from Wednesday until Sunday at both primetime and early morning.
Here are the key times:
Semi Final 2 – Friday, May 12th (5am AEST) / Saturday, May 13th (7:30pm AEST)
Grand Final – Sunday, May 14th (5am AEST) / Sunday, May 14th (7:30pm AEST)
It’s a special year for SBS as the network celebrates 40 years of broadcasting Eurovision. All Eurovision content will also be available to watch on a dedicated SBS On Demand page, including last year’s contest.
And if Australians want to vote – NOT FOR AUSTRALIA – they’ll have to tune into the early morning showings of Semi Final 2 and the Grand Final and follow the voting prompts that appear on screen.
The official theme of Eurovision 2023 may be ‘United By Music’, but Australian entry Voyager also believe this year’s contest is a “celebration of heavy music.”
The progressive metal five-piece are the first Aussie band to be sent to Europe to represent Australia. “I’m really, really excited that SBS went out on the limb and shook things up and decided to send Voyager,” the band’s Daniel Estrin recently told Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“I think this is the year for heavy music and rock music to really shine like it probably hasn’t really ever before at Eurovision. So I’m very, very excited from that perspective,” he added.
