The popular victory of Conchita Wurst brings the world’s biggest music event back to Austria for the first time in 48 years. It was her iconic and inspiring performance, which provided the inspiration for the slogan of the contest in 2015 – “Building Bridges”. The show not only builds bridges between nations and musical genres, but demonstrates how music can provide a platform for the promotion of diversity and tolerance.
This year these bridges meet at the very heart of Europe, in Vienna. The city effortlessly combines the rich heritage of its historical past with its role as the thriving capital of modern Austria.
Sixty years is a monumental achievement for a TV show, and the Eurovision Song Contest can pride itself on six truly star-studded decades filled with memorable moments. However, just as Vienna chooses not to rest on the splendors of its imperial past, the Eurovision Song Contest embraces its history, but also celebrates its continuing success and bright future as a creative and evolving TV and musical experience.
Some people will be surprised to find Australia among 40 countries listed here. But to give the anniversary celebrations an extra dimension and to walk the talk on this year’s theme Building Bridges, the EBU and host broadcaster ORF invited Australia to compete in the Grand Final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.
This spectacular moment in Australian television history will be broadcast from Wednesday May 20 to Sunday May 24 on SBS ONE.
Australia’s entrant Guy Sebastian will perform to a peak international television audience of around 195 million people in the grand final on Saturday May 23 at Wiener Stadthalle arena, which will be broadcast as a live feed in Australia on Sunday morning and then on Sunday evening on SBS ONE, hosted by Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang.
Many betting agents have Australia down as 4th favourite to take away first prize – can our chances improve by the time the Grand Final takes place?
The Eurovision Song Contest has been broadcast on SBS for over 30 years and is one of the biggest events on the SBS calendar. Last year’s coverage achieved the highest ratings for the broadcast since the OzTAM ratings began in 2001, reaching over three million Australians.
The 40 Songs from Eurovision 2015 – are collected in a special 60th Anniversary album Building Bridges: Eurovision Song Contest Vienna 2015.
TRACKLIST
1. ALBANIA Elhaida Dani / I’m Alive
2. ARMENIA Genealogy / Face The Shadow
3. AUSTRIA The Makemakes / I Am Yours
4. AUSTRALIA Guy Sebastian / Tonight Again
5. AZERBAIJAN Elnur Huseynov / Hour Of The Wolf
6. BELGIUM Loïc Nottet / Rhythm Inside
7. BELARUS Uzari / Time
8. SWITZERLAND Mélanie René / Time To Shine
9. CYPRUS John Karayiannis / One Thing I Should Have Done
10. CZECH REPUBLIC Marta Jandová & Václav Noid Bárta / Hope Never Dies
11. GERMANY Ann Sophie / Black Smoke
12. DENMARK Anti Social Media / The Way You Are
13. ESTONIA Elina Born & Stig Rästa / Goodbye To Yesterday
14. SPAIN Edurne / Amanecer
15. FINLAND Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät / Aina Mun Pitää
16. FRANCE Lisa Angell / N’oubliez Pas
17. UNITED KINGDOM Electro Velvet / Still In Love With You
18. GEORGIA Nina Sublatti / Warrior
19. GREECE Maria-Elena Kyriakou / One Last Breath
20. HUNGARY Boggie / Wars For Nothing
1. IRELAND Molly Sterling / Playing With Numbers
2. ISRAEL Nadav Guedj / Golden Boy
3. ICELAND María Olafs / Unbroken
4. ITALY Il Volo / Grande Amore
5. LITHUANIA Monika Linkyte & Vaidas Baumila / This Time
6. LATVIA Aminata / Love Injected
7. MOLDOVA Eduard Romanyuta / I Want Your Love
8. MONTENEGRO Knez / Adio
9. F.Y.R. MACEDONIA Daniel Kajmakoski / Autumn Leaves
10. MALTA Amber / Warrior
11. THE NETHERLANDS Trijntje Oosterhuis / Walk Along
12. NORWAY Mørland / A Monster Like Me
13. POLAND Monika Kuszynska / In The Name Of Love
14. PORTUGAL Leonor Andrade / Há Um Mar Que Nos Separa
15. ROMANIA Voltaj / De La Capat
16. SERBIA Bojana Stamenov / Beauty Never Lies
17. RUSSIA Polina Gagarina / A Million Voices
18. SWEDEN Måns Zelmerlöw / Heroes
19. SLOVENIA Maraaya / Here For You
20. SAN MARINO Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola / Chain Of Lights
Album released on iTunes Friday 10th April,
2CD Album released Friday 17th April.
