Australia’s Eurovision hopefuls Voyager have performed strongly at the song contest, placing ninth out of a tight field of just 26 acts in the grand final.
The synth metal rock band from Perth delivered a flawless performance of their track Promise, with lead singer Danny Estrin appearing in an 80s car flanked by other band members.
Australia landed a respectable 151 points, picking up 12 points from both Portugal and Iceland’s jury votes, and 21 points from the public vote.
The result put them ahead of last year’s Australian entrant, Sheldon Riley, who came 15th at Turin 2022. It is the third time Australia has finished in ninth place, but this year’s result doesn’t match the country’s 2016 performance, where Dami Im came in second place with her song Sound of Silence.
Voyager made it through to the grand final after qualifying in Thursday’s second semi-final which saw, among others, Greece, Denmark and Iceland knocked out, leaving the qualifying acts to go through to the grand final, along with the Big Five – France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Reacting to the result, Emily Griggs, head of the Australian Eurovision delegation, said: “Voyager are truly electric on stage and their performances from the pre-parties to the grand final has been incredible to see … We’re so incredibly proud to have them represent Australia this year and look forward to cheering on their continued success.”
Die-hard Australian fans travelled to Liverpool to watch the show. Despite tickets for the final being hard to come by, many watched in bars and fan zones around the city. Dale Roberts, who was watching in Liverpool, said it was an “incredible result”.
Beto Popocatepetl from Melbourne, a longtime fan attending Eurovision for the fifth time, was watching in Liverpool.
“The reaction from the public [to Australia] was amazing … no one was sitting down, everyone was jumping. The people here love Voyager, it was an amazing response!”
Liv Webster, also in Liverpool, said a top 10 result for Voyager was “a huge moment for Australia”.
She was happy for the winners too, and said “Sweden will do a fabulous job of hosting Eurovision 2024”.
Despite the time difference meaning the show was broadcast in the early hours of the morning in Australia, committed fans watched at organised viewing parties across the country in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.
In Perth, where the show started at 3am and the result was announced at 7am, many had stayed up all night but were not disheartened that Voyager didn’t win.
“Ninth place is a brilliant result, we’re so proud of Voyager,” said Kate Hansen, organiser of EuroClub Perth, a viewing party attended by the parents of Voyager’s lead singer Danny Estrin.
“This year was extra special for us, they’re our friends. The best thing is, about a month and a half ago I booked accommodation in Sweden for next year because I thought they might win!”
Australia has participated in Eurovision since 2015 and has had relative success, placing in the top 10 four times prior to this year.
The country’s participation in Eurovision is only guaranteed until this year, but those close to the Australian team are hopeful the country will be invited back next year, although no announcement has been made.
Paul Clarke, creative director of the Australian delegation to Eurovision, said he was “confident” Australia would return again.
The rules of Eurovision mean it must be hosted within Europe, so if Australia were to win it would mean another country would have to host for them, as the UK have done for Ukraine this year.
Fans are hopeful that Australia will return next year, “but even if not, I’ll still be supporting”, said Hansen.
