Eurovision 2023: Australia’s Voyager makes the final
Volodymyr Zelenskyy may have a song and dance background but Eurovision has blocked the Ukrainian president from making a grand final appearance.
Eurovision organisers have blocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from making a speech during the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final tomorrow.
The UK is hosting this year’s singing Olympics on behalf of the war-torn country whose Kalush Orchestra were the overwhelming winner last year, as Eurovision fans made a defiant protest vote against the Russian invasion.
The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest, denied Zelenskyy’s request to make an address to the 160 million viewers of the grand final, as he has done at awards shows including the Grammys and the Golden Globes.
Organisers said giving any political leader a platform at the awards would contravene its “non-political nature” despite protest and anti-war songs regularly featuring on the Eurovision stage.
“This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the Contest,” the EBU statement said.
“The request by Mr Zelenskyy to address the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst made with laudable intentions, regrettably cannot be granted by the European Broadcasting Union management as it would be against the rules of the event.”
AUSTRALIANS THROUGH TO GRAND FINAL
Pop metal band Voyager delivered on their Promise to get Australia through to the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final in the UK.The five progressive rockers from Perth have lobbied to represent their country at what frontman Danny Estrin calls the Greatest Show On Earth since the Eurovision overlords bafflingly decided to invite Australia to join the party in 2015.
Bassist Alex Canion, who delivers Promise’s epic growl, said the band’s Eurovision campaign had been fuelled by the wave of support they felt from home.
“The only thing I can compare this to is if we were in a Commonwealth Games or the Olympics,” he said.
“Sports teams may have the weight of a nation on their shoulders but not so much an epic progressive electro power pop band from Perth.
“But now we do, and it just feels great. It is lifting us up and we’re just so proud to be representing our beautiful nation of Australia.”
The other countries to advance to the final in Liverpool from the second semi are Albania, Cyprus, Estonia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Armenia and Slovenia.
Andrew Lambrou, who competed at the Australian Decides selection show last year but represented Cyprus due to his dual citizenship, closed his performance with “Thank you, Europe, thank you Australia” which may have been a strategic ploy to court votes from his down under homeland.
This is the seventh time Australia has made the final since we joined the contest in 2015.
Voyager are the first band SBS has sent to Europe after a succession of solo pop acts including Dami Im who came second in 2016 and Kate Miller-Heidke who came ninth with her mind-blowing performance of Zero Gravity soaring above the stage on top of a bendy pole.
There will be 26 acts in the grand final – the 20 qualifiers from the two semis plus last year’s winners and 2023 co-host Ukraine, alongside the other automatic finalists, France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy.
Sweden’s Loreen, who won the 2012 contest, Finland’s Käärijä with his industrial metal pop earworm Cha Cha Cha, Ukraine’s Tvorchi with their anthem of defiance against Russia called Heart of Steel and France’s La Zarra with Évidemment are among the favourites to win this year.
It was widely agreed the first semi featured the strongest performers and songs this year, with Australia, Austria and Belgium among the more popular acts in the second round.
Fans and media are loving the Australian synth metal band, frontman Danny Estrin’s hair choreography and his keytar duel with guitar shredder Simone Dow.
Voyager received an unprecedented long and deafening ovation from the audience as they left the “green room” pod on the floor of the M&S Bank Arena after the second dress rehearsal on Thursday (AEST).
The UK is hosting this year’s competition in Liverpool as Ukraine, who won in 2022, were unable to stage it in their war-torn country as the Russian invasion continues.
SBS and their Eurovision production partner Blink TV – who also made the John Farnham: Finding The Voice film – remain tight-lipped about Australia’s future in the contest.
It is understood they are in negotiations to secure our future at the singing Olympics but any announcement is unlikely to happen at the 2023 contest.
The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest grand final will air live on SBS from 5am on Sunday (AEST), with a prime time repeat from 7.30pm.
WHO MADE IT INTO FIRST SEMI-FINAl
There were 15 countries in contention at the first semi-final on Thursday, with Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway scoring the highest fan votes.
The UK co-hosts ramped up the star power at the 2023 singing Olympics with Ted Lasso actor Hannah Waddingham, former Australia’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina helming the semi-finals and Irish television personality Graham Norton joining them for the grand final.
The BBC organisers even resurrected original Buck’s Fizz members Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston who won in 1981 with their hit Making Your Mind Up for a clunky how-to-vote skit.
The “interval” guest performers at Eurovision this year include The Voice judge Rita Ora, with the live premiere of her latest single Praising You, a reinvention of the 1999 Fat Boy Slim global hit Praise You.
The UK is hosting the awards on behalf of Ukraine, with the war-torn country unable to welcome the singing Olympics back to Kyiv as Russia continues its invasion.
Finland’s Käärijä is one of the favourites to win the title this year with his industrial rock meets hyperpop banger Cha Cha Cha and human centipede choreography.
Sweden’s Loreen, who won the 2012 competition hopes to claim a second title with her song Tattoo.
Croatia’s Let 3 stripped down to their baggy Y-fronts during their performance of the bonkers pop punk song Mama ŠČ.
Ukraine’s entry Tvorchi join the Big Five – UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy – to automatically qualify for the final which will feature 26 contestants.
SBS have enlisted Oscar winning costume designer and Eurovision fan girl Catherine Martin to be the official spokesperson who will deliver the jury scores of behalf of Australia at the grand final.
“Since my first memories of ABBA exploding onto the stage and becoming the worldwide phenomenon they are, I have been obsessed, not only with the extraordinary celebration of music and songwriting but also with the inspiration, staging, costuming, and lighting,” she said.
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Originally published as Eurovision 2023: Australia’s Voyager makes the final
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