I wasn’t suggesting that Joel would be reading the Australian votes. I meant to point out that while he was stressed about going live to the world this year, he had done it before so perhaps a slight “overreaction” on his part 
Should heave been clearer.
https://twitter.com/SBSOnDemand/status/1655804287673352192?s=20
Some technical issues with the start of this mornings Eurovision broadcast for SBS, with one of the commentary microphones not working. Joel and Myf were noting there was a flurry of technical people trying to figure out what was going on. Eventually things seemed to be fixed after about the first half hour.
I imagine they’ll probably redub some of that commentary for the Primetime replays.
As they introduced the first live show tonight, Hannah explained in French the voting rules for the semi-final.
She added: “You see Europe, some of us Brits do bother to learn another language.” Many viewers at home thought this was a dig at Amanda Holden who presented the votes for the UK during the Grand Final in 2021.
Amanda famously said: “Bon soir. Goedenavond. That is ‘good evening’ in French and Dutch although I’ve got absolutely no idea which is which.”
But that sounds like a joke, not ignorance.
That’s a criticism aimed at Brits who travel abroad and don’t try to speak any other language but assume everyone speaks English.
Get your keytars ready, because the spectacle of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest is around the corner, and you can catch all the action LIVE from Wednesday 10 – Sunday 14 May at 5:00am AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand with the prime time broadcast from Friday 12 – Sunday 14 May at 7:30pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.
AUSTRALIA’S EUROVISION SPOKESPERSON
Who hasn’t heard about the famous douze points? The Eurovision Song Contest voting procedure is legendary, but even more legendary is the coveted role of the official spokesperson – a role that will see legendary costume designer Catherine Martin deliver the scores on behalf of Australia this year.
Catherine Martin said: “I am so excited to be the spokesperson for Australia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Since my first memories of ABBA exploding onto the stage and becoming the worldwide phenomenon they are, I have been obsessed, not only with the extraordinary celebration of music and songwriting but also with the inspiration, staging, costuming, and lighting. Eurovision celebrates not only musical excellence but the presentation of music, in visually extraordinary ways.”
How can Australia vote?
*The jury and Australian public can vote for any country except Australia.
This year, major changes in how the voting in Eurovision will work have been announced. The countries that qualify from the two Semi Finals, 10 from each, will now be decided solely based on the votes cast by viewers of the competition, rather than a combination of a jury and public vote as has been the case since 2009. Also, countries not taking part in the competition will be able to vote online for their favourite songs. Their votes will be added together and converted to points that will have the same weight as one participating country in both the Semi Finals and the Grand Final. Professional juries, made up of those working in the music industry, will continue to contribute to the result of the Grand Final combined with the public vote.
As per the official Eurovision rules, viewers can vote in the Semi Final in which their country is participating, as well as the Grand Final. Australian viewers will need to tune into the LIVE broadcast of Semi Final 2 on Friday 12 May at 5am (AEST) and the Grand Final on Sunday 14 May at 5am (AEST) by following the voting prompts that appear on screen.
You can vote online via Eurovision’s official voting partner Digame, exclusively for Australia’s public Eurovision vote. This means there will be no SMS or televoting in Australia during the live shows. All of Australia’s public votes will be received via this online voting portal, which can be accessed via www.esc.vote
- The voting portal will be open to Australians during the voting period in Semi Final 2 and the Grand Final.
- Just like SMS voting, votes will be limited to 20 per person and will cost 65c per vote.
- Users can allocate 20 votes to one act, divide their votes between multiple acts, or just make one vote for their favourite.
- Jury members and public voters can’t vote for their own country, so you can vote for any act in Semi Final 2 and Grand Final except Voyager. Find out more about of all the 2023 acts and their songs here
- Full voting terms and conditions will be available on the voting platform.
- For more information about the voting process, see here.
EUROVISION RATER
If you miss out on voting during the LIVE shows, don’t worry! You can still tell us how you rate each performance during the prime time broadcasts at sbs.com.au/Eurovision or scan the QR code on screen during the show. The rater is a real-time poll that will display everyone’s results on screen once the song has finished.
Australians will also be able to join in the conversation using the hashtag #SBSEurovision during the interactive evening prime time broadcasts. Tweets and party pictures will then be selected to appear on screen.
The 67th Eurovision Song Contest is held from Tuesday 9 May - Saturday 13 May 2023 and will broadcast in Australia at the dates and times listed below:
LIVE early morning broadcasts on SBS and SBS On Demand
Semi Final 1 – Wednesday 10 May at 5:00am AEST
Semi Final 2 – Friday 12 May at 5:00amb AEST ** FEATURING VOYAGER**
Grand Final – Sunday 14 May at 5:00am AEST
Prime time broadcasts on SBS and SBS On Demand
Semi Final 1 – Friday 12 May at 7:30pm AEST
Semi Final 2 – Saturday 13 May at 7:30pm AEST ** FEATURING VOYAGER**
Grand Final – Sunday 14 May at 7:30pm AEST
Telling the rest of the world how they can vote for Voyager
Nobody at home linked that to Amanda Holden or even remembered she’d once read the jury votes out (who hasn’t?). Just the usual shit stirring from the tabloids who’d rather make it out to be a celebrity fight than realise she’s actually referring to how shit we are as a country when it comes to learning foreign languages.
It’s official!
— BBC Eurovision (@bbceurovision) May 10, 2023
The UK’s #Eurovision2023 spokesperson is… Catherine Tate 🙌 pic.twitter.com/cMAzSf8v7C
I just don’t understand why SBS delay the primetime broadcast till Friday. We just assumed that it was on tonight, ordered pizzas, flicked on our TVs and it’s not scheduled. Thankfully it is available on SBS On Demand so about to start that up.
I guess the primetime replay was pushed back so SBS won’t have to rest Alone Australia and Rogue Heroes this week.
SBS has done it like this for the past 2 years, and also for several years prior to 2017.
In 2019 they did a Thursday, Friday and Sunday primetime showing, while in 2018 they did a Wednesday, Friday and Sunday showing.
My general assumption is that they usually find they can get more audience eyeballs putting it on Friday and Saturdays when it’s not up against usually big name shows on the other networks (and offers a sport alternative).
Its because they get higher ratings when they schedule it during the weekend as opposed to weekdays.
You could record the morning screenings and watch them at night. That’s what I do.
Because Australia has along history of Eurovision watching events over the weekend - nicer to have people over the weekend than a weeknight.
I get the legacy and the reason for having the commentary for Eurovision but these days i just find it unnecessary for an English, let alone Australian, commentary when most of the presentation is in English.
Do people really still have Eurovision events on a Saturday night though (when the finale is 5am the next morning)? Or still do it for a delayed finale airing when some people attending would know the winner? I feel like that was a thing prior to Aus competing and us having the live final airing here.
I’ve hosted Eurovision parties with friends at my place many times in the past few years. I’ve always done it on a Friday night with semi-final 2 though, as I always want to watch the final live and am not as fussed with spoilers on a semi-final.
Anyway it’s available on SBS On Demand so not a big deal. It won’t surprise me if that gets a pretty big audience comparative to TV.
They sure do.
Semi 1 on demand, followed by semi 2 on tv, eurovision party songs then followed by live finale.
If you follow any of the official fan groups youd see so many official fan events also.
Mostly for the live finale airings. I am a part of OGAE - which is the official fan group and I don’t know of many hardcore fans in these groups that wait around for days old delayed SBS airings.
Sure but the primetime semifinal airings (and the scheduling of them) are geared towards casual viewers.
