On the morning of 11 February, 2015 a monumental proclamation was made - Australia would compete as a one-off (lol) wildcard at Eurovision that year.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who organises Eurovision, and Australian broadcaster SBS made the historic announcement.
In a video, Australian commentator Julia Zemiro addressed Eurovision fans across the world.
"I've got some very exciting news to share with you," she said.
"This year at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Australia will be competing in the Grand Final!"
At the time, Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand acknowledged that the move was a little audacious.
“It’s a daring and at the same time incredibly exciting move. It is our way of saying; let’s celebrate this party together!” he said.
“At the very heart of the Eurovision Song Contest is the importance of bringing countries together to celebrate diversity, music and culture. We have admired and respected SBS’s support of Eurovision for many years now and wanted to extend the invitation for Australia to join us in this special 60th Anniversary of the Contest. It would be remiss of us to throw the world’s biggest party and not invite our Australian friends, who have such a long history and connection with Eurovision."
News coverage
The news sent shockwaves around the world
Fan reaction
The reaction was mixed to say the least!
Nearly every Aussie fan was ecstatic and many international ones were welcoming, while others weren't so keen.
In the Australian media
It was a top topic conversation on our talk shows.
With one punter on the street convinced he was being pranked by The Project.
Who to send?
Guy Sebastian had yet to be announced so fans also began to wonder who could represent us?
Kylie, Delta or even Olivia?
One chap started a petition for TISM to represent us, something that continues to pop up nearly every year to this day!
So happy 10th anniversary Aussie Eurofans, it was quite the extraordinary day!
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