Just as King Charles’ coronation fades from our screens, the UK is set to host another global blockbuster – Eurovision 2023.
The songwriting competition begins in Liverpool on Tuesday, but to watch it live in Australia you’re going to have to wake up pretty early on Wednesday.
The contest is taking place in the UK on behalf of Ukraine, the winners from 2022. The theme, ‘United by Music’, is a nod to the two countries’ partnership.
SBS will be Eurovision’s home once again this year.
This year, Perth-based band Voyager will be competing for Australia and bringing its song, Promise, to the world stage.
How to watch Eurovision 2023
The contest spans three days – with semi-finals on Wednesday and Friday, and the grand final on Sunday.
The live broadcasts of the semi-finals and the grand final will all begin at 5am AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.
For those who are night owls rather than early birds, the two semis and the grand final will be broadcast again at 7.30pm on the same day they air live – a time much more conducive to a Eurovision party.
Once the broadcast has wrapped up, each final will be available to stream on SBS On Demand.
The semi-finals should be available from noon the same day they are broadcast and the grand final at 3pm.
OK, so who is Voyager?
The five-member band Voyager will represent Australia.
The five-piece, synth-metal band hails from Perth, and has been together since 1999.
The group has wanted to take part in the contest since Australia joined Eurovision in 2015, coming close last year as runners-up at Australia Decides.
This year, the band was selected to represent Australia without competition.
On the official Eurovision live blog from rehearsals on May 2, Voyager’s performance was described as an “absolute STOMPER”.
Tweet from @Voyagerau
“It manages to sound distinctively Australian and fabulously Eurovision at the same time, which is a great indicator of how much Australia have rolled themselves in Eurovision glitter since they joined the contest in 2015,” the live blog says.
“Voyager look like absolute pros, and are rocking both the Liverpool stage and those sequinned houndstooth check outfits.”
They also performed with a car on stage for the rehearsals, which a camera man confirmed was a Toyota MR2.
Voyager will perform in the second semi-final, wrapping up the show.
Australian to represent Cyprus
Andrew Lambrou also competed in Australia Decides last year, and like Voyager, he was unsuccessful.
This year, he will be competing for Cyprus, where his family is from.
The 24-year-old Australian-Cypriot will perform Break A Broken Heart, which is described as a heartfelt, powerful ballad.
“When Andrew took to the stage for his first rehearsal on Monday, May 1, his impressive vocal range did not disappoint,” Eurovision said.
“After appearing in a sleeveless number and giving a dazzling performance that bathes him in graphics of fire and water, he might be breaking a few hearts across Europe during the second semi-final.”
Who else is performing?
All eyes will probably be on the reigning champions this year. Ukraine’s Tvorchi is hoping to defend the title with its song, Heart of Steel.
Jimoh and Andrii met while they were in university and the Ukrainian electronic duo has made four albums together.
The favourite to win this year is Sweden’s entrant, Loreen. The singer-songwriter won the Eurovision contest in 2012 and is hoping her song, Tattoo, will see her crowned again.
The UK is vying for its sixth Eurovision win at home, with Mae Muller performing I Wrote A Song. The 25-year-old has been writing songs since she was a child and found success worldwide and on social media.
How do I vote?
Each of the 37 countries has a professional jury to rank all the songs, but the public also get to have their say.
Only viewers will decide who wins the semi-finals this year.
The professional juries will help decide the winner in the grand final.
SBS warns that while Australians can vote, we can’t vote for Voyager.
To vote, Australian viewers need to tune into the live broadcast of the second semi-final and the grand final, and follow the prompts on the screen.
Also, for the first time, voting will be open to anyone from an eligible country, even if an act is not representing that country.
“Votes from countries not participating will be combined to create a set of points with the same weight as one participating country in both of the semi-finals and the grand final,” Eurovision states.
“This will affect the 50-50 percentage balance between jury points and public points marginally, giving the general public slightly more impact on the final result – approximately 50.7 per cent.”
