There would have been surely nothing more Eurovision, nothing more gloriously non-sensical, than Australia winning a competition it doesn’t really belong in.
They didn’t though, as Ukraine’s Jamala took home the prize with the politically-charged song, ‘1944’.
Australia, however, (which, if you didn’t know, is on the other side of the world) was competing in the Eurovision Song Contest for the second year running.
Despite taking place in a different continent, the event is a smash hit down under, pulling in around three million viewers each year.
Eurovision has been broadcast on Australian network SBS for 30 years. SBS is part of the European Broadcasting Union and that seems to be solid enough for the competition’s organisers to allow them a slot.
Australia’s entrant for this year’s competition was Dami Im, with a song called ‘Sound Of Silence’. She seemed to break the unwritten rules of Eurovision by actually putting forward a half-decent tune.
Divine! @Damiandmusic has come a long way to sing here and we're so glad she did! #AUS #Eurovision https://t.co/nTWsVELzPT
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 14, 2016
The internet couldn’t decide what to make of it all…
https://twitter.com/darren_bell/status/731581944283201536
Saw Australia though. Cheating by having a good song/singer.
— Richard K Herring (@Herring1967) May 14, 2016
Australia is my favourite European country so far. #Eurovision
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 14, 2016
If Australia win. #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/oj5rBYDlLA
— Coral (@Coral) May 14, 2016
Australia putting a good tune in with someone who can actually sing. They don't know how to do Eurovision properly!
— Keith Judge (@KeefJudge) May 14, 2016
https://twitter.com/joshgnosis/status/731576541134495744
https://twitter.com/jonoBLITZ/status/731576397270032384
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