Australia To Compete In This Year's Eurovision

Australia has been invited to compete in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, gaining a wildcard entry into the Grand Final stage of the competition.

The one-off invite will see SBS, who have broadcasted Eurovision for around 30 years, decide which artist heads over to Vienna, Austria for the massive event, which will be held this May.

According to the Eurovision website, Australia has been granted the invite due to our long-time support of the event, which is celebrating 60 years in 2015. SBS have to submit their entry for the contest by 16 Mar.

"We are very excited to have secured this historic opportunity for Australia to be represented on the world’s biggest stage at the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest and are honoured that the European Broadcasting Union has supported us to achieve this ambition," said Michael Ebeid, SBS' Managing Director.

"SBS has been broadcasting Eurovision for over 30 years and we have seen how Australians’ love of the song contest has grown during those years."

Despite being billed as a one-time entry, if Australia's wildcard does win, we will be able to send a participant to the contest again next year. The contest is looking into ways to allow local viewers to vote during both the Semi-Finals and Grand Final rounds, though as usual, fans are not allowed to vote for their own country.

Last year, Aussie pop singer Jessica Mauboy performed at the event, an appearance that did wonders for SBS' ratings of the telecast.