Eurovision and Australia

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Introduction—“Good Evening, Europe—Good Morning, Australia!”

   • Chris Hay, Jacquelyn Prior

   Pages 1-14

3. Conclusion—Eurovision—Australia Decides

   • Jessica Carniel, Chris Hay

   Pages 259-279

4. Australia in Eurovision

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 15-15

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   2. Australia and the Eurovision Song Contest: A Historical Survey

      • Dean Vuletic

      Pages 17-32

   3. The Politics of Diversity and Participation

      • Anika Gauja

      Pages 33-55

   4. Indigenous Representation at the Eurovision Song Contest: A Quintessentially Australian Identity

      • Julie L. Collins, Lorina Barker

      Pages 57-74

   5. Gender-Bending or Gender-Straightening? Australia and the ESC at the Intersections of Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Ethnicity

      • Bronwyn Winter

      Pages 75-100

   6. Sounds Like Australia? Listening to Australia’s Eurovision Song Performances

      • Brent Keogh, Shelley Brunt, Liz Giuffre

      Pages 101-121

5. Interval Act

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 123-123

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   2. Australia and Eurovision: The View From Europe

      • Paul Jordan

      Pages 125-137

6. Eurovision in Australia

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 139-139

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   2. Eurovisions from Down Under: Multicultural Community Preferences and the National Broadcaster, SBS

      • Nina Markovic Khaze

      Pages 141-163

   3. Lessons Learned: Teaching European Studies in Full Eurovision

      • Alison Lewis, John Hajek

      Pages 165-187

   4. Our Aussie Divas: Interrogating Australian Identity through Audience Reactions to Australia’ Eurovision Entrants

      • Celia Lam

      Pages 189-212

   5. “It Really Makes You Feel Part of the World”: Transnational Connection for Australian Eurovision Audiences

      • Jessica Carniel

      Pages 213-237

   6. Pyjama Fandom: Watching Eurovision Down Under

      • Chris Hay

      Pages 239-258

7. Back Matter

   Pages 281-287

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This book investigates Australia’s relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest over time and place, from its first screening on SBS in 1983 to Australia's inaugural national selection in 2019. Beginning with an overview of Australia’s Eurovision history, the contributions explore the contest’s role in Australian political participation and international relations; its significance for Australia’s diverse communities, including migrants and the LGBTQIA+ community; racialised and gendered representations of Australianness; changing ideas of liveness in watching the event; and a reflection on teaching Australia’s first undergraduate course dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest. The collection brings together a group of scholar-fans from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives — including history, politics, cultural studies, performance studies, and musicology — to explore Australia’s transition from observer to participant in the first thirty-six years of its love affair with the Eurovision Song Contest.

• Eurovision
• Music
• Migration
• Eurovision Song Contest
• Music performance
• Australian music

“In an age when Australia increasingly sees itself as a country defined by its location in Asia, this book reminds us that Australia’s relationship to Europe remains culturally and historically profound. Through a multifaceted investigation of Australia’s engagement with the Eurovision Song Contest, this wonderful edited collection shows us how ‘Europe’ remains a crucial reference point for Australians of very diverse backgrounds, pointing to the complexities of the nation’s cultural identity in the 21^st century.” (Distinguished Professor Ien Ang, Western Sydney University, Australia) 

“For anyone who wonders why Australia is in the Eurovision Song Contest, this expert collection of essays explores the diverse cultural and historical dynamics of this antipodal relationship. But that’s only half the story: how Eurovision is in Australia reveals the continent’s multiculturalism born of immigration, its indigenous First Nations people, and its close bonds with Asian nations. A timely and insightful study of the song contest’s far-reaching connections even as globalism is everywhere in question.” (Ivan Raykoff, Associate Professor of Music, The New School, USA)

• University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

  Chris Hay

• University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia

  Jessica Carniel

Chris Hay is Lecturer in Drama at the University of Queensland, Australia. As a Eurovision fan, he identifies as the love child of Cezar Ouatu and Petra Mede.

Jessica Carniel is Senior Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is a passionate advocate for bangers over ballads.

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