Australia
Not being a European country, Australia's participation has been a topic of discussion several times. Their great results however can not be discussed; a second place, a fifth place and a 9th place. Australia has so far never ended outside top 10.
For the 2014 contest, Australia was invited to produce a special interval act performance. Australian broadcaster SBS chose Jessica Mauboy for the task. EBU was enthusiastic about it, and for the 2015 contest, they invited the country to take part as a one-time-only. As it was a special thing, Australia was automatically qualified for the final, and the country could even vote in both semi-finals.
In 2016, the one-time-only thing was forgotten. Australian broadcaster was invited to take part once again, but this time under the same conditions as other semi-final countries - with the exception that if they country wins, the following contest will be hosted in Europe in collaboration with that country's broadcaster.
Dami-Im was close to winning the 2016 contest for Australia as she came second with the song Sound Of Silence.
Capital cityCanberra
BroadcasterSBS
Population23,1 million
