Australia won't perform in Eurovision grand final but a Sydney teen could still take out the win
Australia’s 2024 Eurovision entry, Electric Fields, will not be among the countries competing in this weekend’s song contest grand final in Malmö, Sweden.
The group’s performance of One Mikali (One Blood) during the first semi-final on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) wasn’t enough to get them through.
That’s despite a unique act that brought the Yankunytjatjara language and a traditional yidaki instrument to the Eurovision stage for the first time.
Electric Fields of Australia perform the song One Milkali (One Blood) during the first semi-final at the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
This means in the year marking a decade of Australian Eurovision participation, we won’t officially have a performer in the grand final for the first time since 2021.
But we could still see an Aussie win the song contest.
Sydney teen Vasiliki Silia Kapsis, better known as Silia, is representing Cyprus in this year’s competition and is through to the grand final.
The Australian-Cypriot singer, dancer and actress qualified for the next step of the contest after her performance of Liar during the first semi-final on Tuesday.
“I really hope I make it into the final and if I do that, I think we may just get it,” she told Eurovision World ahead of opening the show for the first semi-final.
“I am manifesting it!”
Sydney teen Vasiliki Silia Kapsis, better known as Silia, is representing Cyprus in this year’s competition and is through to the grand final.
Kapsis is the second Aussie in a row to represent Cyprus at the song contest after 25-year-old Sydney singer Andrew Lambrou took to the stage in 2023.
At just 17 years of age, the teen is the youngest competitor in this year’s Eurovision and among the youngest in its history, particularly after the minimum age of 16 was introduced back in 1990.
Kapsis revealed in a recent interview that the song’s producer got in touch with her mum after seeing her singing on Instagram.
“I followed Dimitris Kontopoulos, the producer of Liar, on Instagram, and he saw my stuff including videos of me singing,” she told the publication.
“So, he had a conversation with my mother first where he asked her if I could speak Greek and if I was of Cypriot descent, which she confirmed.
Kapsis, the second Aussie in a row to represent Cyprus at the song contest after 25-year-old Sydney singer Andrew Lambrou took to the stage in 2023.
“We ended up going to Greece on holidays… We go every year and he invited us to his studio. That’s where we recorded the song.”
Kapsis, who has performed with the Australian Youth Company, only later found out the single was going to be used for Eurovision, when her mum got a call about 1am.
“Due to the time difference, I was about to go to bed when my mum comes in my room saying ‘Silia! Guess what?’ I was surprised because it was late but that’s when she told me I would go to Eurovision and represent Cyprus,” she recalled.
“Let me tell you, I couldn’t sleep that night. I called my friends, my family group chat … It was a boost of energy, I really couldn’t go to bed.”
The Aussies were first included in the popular international song contest back in 2014, when Jessica Mauboy took to the stage as a half-time act during the second semi-final.
Australia was first included in the popular international song contest back in 2014, when Jessica Mauboy took to the stage as a half-time act during the second semi-final.
The contest was being held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and it’s understood our special inclusion that year was a nod to Australian-born Princess Mary.
The singer was such a big hit that from the following year, the Aussies were formally invited to take part – originally as a one-off.
Australia became only the second country outside of Eurasia to take part in the competition after Morocco, which competed for the only time back in 1980.
Dami Im’s performance of Sound of Silence went on to be crowned overall runner-up in the international song contest.
Guy Sebastian was the first to represent Australia and was given a wild card to go straight through to the Vienna grand final with Tonight Again.
From Stockholm in 2016 though, our acts had to go through the semi-final process and qualify for the finals – something Dami Im did beyond successfully that year.
Her performance of Sound of Silence went on to be crowned overall runner-up in the international song contest, behind winner Jamala from Ukraine. Im also won the Marcel Bezençon Award for composition and the jury vote.
Isaiah (2017), Kate Miller-Heidke (2019) and Voyager (2023) each finished ninth place in their respective Eurovision grand finals.
Mauboy returned to the stage in 2018 as a competitor in Lisbon with her hit We Got Love, while Sheldon Riley represented Australia in Turin back in 2022 with Not The Same.
They finished 20th and 15th respectively in their grand finals out of 26 acts.
In 2021, musician Montaigne became the first ever Eurovision entry to compete remotely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, meaning she couldn’t make it to Rotterdam.
In 2021, musician Montaigne became the first ever Eurovision entry to compete remotely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, meaning she couldn’t make it to Rotterdam.
Sadly the performer, who sang Technicolour, became the first Aussie act not to make it through to the song contest’s grand final.
This year’s Eurovision also marks 50 years since ABBA’s win with Waterloo in 1974, when the Swedish pop act beat out Olivia Newton-John (who was competing for UK and finished fourth) at the Brighton contest.
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