Preview: Austria in Eurovision 2015

In this new rubric at ESC Daily, we will take a look at next years Eurovision Song Contest. What can we expect from each participating country? In today’s preview we will feature the plans in Austria.

What do we know so far?

After winning the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, Austrian broadcaster ORF has confirmed that they will host the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 on the 19th, 21st and 23rd of May 2015 at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. As host country and winner of the previous year’s contest, we know that Austria will automatically qualify for the Grand Final on the 23rd of May.

The artist who will represent Austria in their home country will be selected through a televised national final organised by ORF to be held next February/March. The selection will consist of four shows, in the first show a team of professionals will select six artists from the 20 shortlisted to continue in the process. The next show will see each of the six artists showcase their vocal talents by covering popular songs. The third show will see each of the artists sing two potential Eurovision songs but only one song by each of the acts will be selected to compete in the grand final. The grand final of the Austrian selection will feature the six finalists performing their chosen Eurovision entries and the winner will be decided by 50% televoting and 50% jury voting.

Possible Names:

The candidate to succeed Conchita Wurst in Vienna is very likely to be a new and unknown artist. There has been little speculation thus far surrounding the selection process. ORF has mentioned focusing on new and unknown artists specifically for this year’s selection, making it impossible to name any names at this point.

Chances at Eurovision:

Before Conchita Wurst in 2014, Austria have typically had very bad luck at Eurovision in the 21st centuary. They often haven’t made the grand final and have on a few occasions even decided not to participate. This sudden surge in popularity  due to Conchita’s victory could bring forward some singing and songwriting talent from Austria for future Eurovision participation. If you couple this with the fact that the Austrian representative will automatically qualify for the final, and have the advantage of performing in front of a home crowd, Austria will hope to do well this year.