Ever since Australia has become a regular competitor at Eurovision, fans down under have wondered if neighbouring New Zealand will also get an invite. Now things have taken a tiny step forward. European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström recently tweeted that New Zealand should be given “serious consideration” as a Eurovision competitor.
The tweet follows a speech Malmström recently gave in Australia, discussing the history of trade between Australia and the EU. And of course, the Swedish politician couldn’t resist mentioning Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest:
“But little did we know that the most important, momentous step in EU-Australian relations was still to come. A move that would prove controversial. Some questioned whether it was possible, let alone geographically justifiable. But three years on, they are proven wrong. I am, of course, referring to Australia’s admission to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015. And it proved to be a success.”
The speech prompted a lighthearted tweet to the commissioner from New Zealand journalist Sam Sachdeva. He asked the EU Trade Commissioner, “The big question Cecilia @MalmstromEU is yet to answer during her NZ trip: is there a spot for us in Eurovision?”
Mälmstrom quickly responded, “I think we should give this done serious consideration.”
I think we should give this done serious consideration. ?
— Cecilia Malmström (@MalmstromEU) June 22, 2018
Getting to Eurovision would not be an easy path for New Zealand. Like Australian broadcaster SBS, national broadcaster Television New Zealand is an associate member of the EBU. This means that to participate at Eurovision, TVNZ would need to be invited as a special guest competitor.
But unlike Australia, Eurovision is not broadcast in New Zealand and it does not have the mainstream following that Eurovision has in Australia.
Who should sing?
Sachdeva also asked his Twitter followers for ideas on a New Zealand act to send to Eurovision. He suggested a reunion of TrueBliss, the girl group formed in the first ever series of Popstars.
Other suggestions included Maori-language thrash metal band Alien Weaponry, ’00s rapper Scribe, political rap group Upper Hutt Posse, lounge singer Wayne Anderson, and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker.
Fan suggestions also include global pop star Lorde, alt-country singer Marlon Williams, indie pop duo Broods, alt-pop icon Kimbra and singer-songwriter Neil Finn.
In August last year, a Television New Zealand spokesperson said they were interested in joining Eurovision Asia. However, no new information about the potential Asia-Pacific song contest has been confirmed and it is not known if it will still go ahead.
What do you think? Should New Zealand be invited to participate at Eurovision? Or should the EBU focus on Europe? Which New Zealand artist would you like to see perform at Eurovision? Share your thoughts below!
What’s the point of it being called EUROvision then? Let’s invite the US too, because the EBU’s logic is extremely low
At least those countries are actually next to Europe. Australia and New Zealand are the furthest countries you can get from Europe!
What happened to Eurovision Asia?
I second that Question o/
I have to say I’m not a great supporter of new countries entering Eurovision. I didn’t quite wanted Australia, but I’m used to it now. Apart from that, Australia has been following the contest for years. But New Zealand is not even in Europe. And don’t expect to see artists like Lorde in Eurovision if they ever participate.
Perhaps the non-european countries can have their own semi final with X% making it to the final. Seams fair? Maybe do the same for all blocks of countries so that in effect it’s like heats before the final rather than some blood bath semi finals where we lose some great songs
Can’t wait for Burkina Faso, Guyana, and Laos to follow suit!
Do you imply that ”highly civilized” countries never question anything? I’m sure it isn’t true, because if it were true, wouldn’t be so flattering.
New Zealand in Eurovision would be cool, but at some point EBU might have to cap the number of participants in the contest. There are 50 sovereign nations in Europe. If all the nations of Europe (excluding the Vatican) decided to participate in the contest, and Israel, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Australia continued to participate, that would mean a contest with 54 entrants!
If the number went any higher, the EBU might have to make some serious structural changes to the semi-finals to handle the load.
Gin Wigmore 🙂
New Zealand in Eurovision. As an Australian, no thanks. I’m pretty content with my country stealing a spot in the contest as it is. I kinda want Eurovision to go back to how it was before Australia took over. Adding New Zealand to the contest could cause the contest to fall into the depths of hell. Maybe. I hope not but I swear since Australia joined, Eurovision has changed…
I hope Australia returns to Eurovision in 2019 – I have this funny feeling that they might not be back, would love to be proved wrong 🙂
I doubt New Zealand will participate, but I do see the U.S. getting an invite eventually because there’s not enough money in Europe to satisfy the powers that be.
It would probably take some serious major network participation to get America into Eurovision. I can’t see the US getting an invite as long as its on a bottom-tier level cable network like Logo.
Sorry, but what exactly is the logic of New Zealand being in Eurovision??
They didn’t ever broadcast it, and there is no following there. Am I missing something?
As a Kiwi, I highly doubt it would ever happen, and despite being a Eurovision fan, I don’t think it would be a good idea either. Ultimately, New Zealand doesn’t care about Eurovision, so there would only be a very few fans who would actually watch it. And as for the fans who did, they’d become even more powerful than Sammarinese voters. Overall, while I’d enjoy being able to watch it live on television, I think it’s not in the EBU’s best interests.
ONLY if Robyn Gallagher is their spokesperson every year.
God NO NO NO NO NO No WAY! YouTube Live was so boring!!!
F*ck you! Robyn rocks big time!
The heck it was boring! Robyn and Suzanne were the MVPs of Wiwibloggs’ ESC 2018 coverage! I loved how they interacted with the followers in chat.
Or maybe NZ can just help out the UK instead like when Australia’s Olivia Newton John represented them?
I’m so happy you mentioned Kimbra, I thought you wouldn’t (:
I’d love if Lorde would sing, she’s sooo good and her songs are goooorgeaus??
Nah. If New Zealand debuts, it will cause overkill.
I can see why Australia became an Invitation (and I like them being part of the contest) but that’s not the case for New Zealand. They have no love or serious tradition when it comes to Eurovision.
That’s true. Its all about sports here in NZ. Even the Euros soccer and NBA had more relevancy here than ESC and we’re not even eligible for them. Maybe if our broadcasters actually bothered to air the contest then public interest would’ve been big by now. Guess we’ll just have to rely on Australia to build hype..
I love your Pm as well Robyn. You must be proud. She is so inspirational.
According to some sources Kosovo may debut next year as well
Not all countries recognize Kosovo as an independent state so i don’t think they will debut
Kosovo is still not a member of the International Telecommunications Union, which means they can’t be part of the EBU yet.
…but, apparently, Kosovo is planning to debut in 2019. We will probably know that soon.
Despite not being an EBU member nor an ITU member, Kosovo did participate on Eurovision Young Dancers 2011. So it’s not really that impossible. But I imagine we could be saying goodbye to Serbia and maybe Russia if Kosovo gets accepted into the main song contest.
No one cares about Eurovision in new Zealand unfortunately so it’s a no. they don’t even show the contest there.
My god, your PM is beautiful. Quite uncommon for a politician.
They should send the band “Openside” to Eurovision 😀
But without jokes, of course it is a problem, if “every country” wants to participate – bigger event, more audience, larger press centrum, more places for guests, infrastructur…
On the other hand, Eurovision should celebrate diversity and tolerance! It makes me sad, that there are so many haters, who completely forget about it! Let’s spread love!
I like everybody to participate, but if countries that already compete will see it as more competition, will exist negative reactions. Rules must be changed to make more room in the final, or more semifinals, something that will not make people angry that competition is more tough. Esc is about inclusion after all.
Dont you think its hard to qualify with 30 countries in 3 semifinals? Its hard already so no more then 20 in 2 semifinals each. Do you only want to see your country in the final every 12th year?
I think the semi-finals are too crowded as they are. Why not have three semis with a little breathing room instead of two crammed full like a clown-car, especially as we get a new participant country every few years?
Hell, let’s have four semis. Is the fanbase going to protest against one or two more days of ESC?
Who is willing to afford a third semi final?
+12 pts to Sweden.
I’m still hoping that one day Eurovision will be screened on a mainstream tv channel here in NZ. Time zone wise it works better than Australia but that’s about it. I feel like the NZ sound isn’t very Eurovisiony. A girl can dream but I don’t think it will happen.
One word….NO.
Instead of getting random countries from the other side of the world to participate, I would rather see Slovakia, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Luxembourg return. You know…actual eligible, European nations located within the EBU broadcast area.
Australia’s participation still baffles me and I’m not 100% used to it yet if I’m honest.
Nothing against New Zealand or Australia of course….
Anything happening with Eurovision Asia???
I couldn’t agree more! And yes what is happening with Eurovision Asia?
No i think eurovision has no place for New Zealand ! As Australia has nothing to do in Eurovision.
I’m more agree about the idea of a contest for the Asia pacific countries, where bith have their place.
I think both, Kazakhstan or Liechtenstein, should be considered first as possible debuting nations. As for New Zealand, they should not be considered as an invitation country unless they at least broadcast ESC, so a no from me (and also the fact that some people already get tired with Australia in)
Lichtenstein is in Europe already so a big Yes to them
Kazakstan is a big no because they are not a member of council of Europe and outside the area. Yes Israel is outside to but like Football they are with us because some of the arab states want them dead.
Kosovo is a yes IF Serbia and Bosnia will allow it.
New Zealns dont have a Eurovosiin tradidtion like Australila since the 70s so no for them.
Kazakhstan also compete with the European teams.
Why do all politicians feel the need to intervere in eurovision all the time?
yes send stan walker to esc asia (if it’s still even happening)
but the actual contest isn’t even broadcast in nz XD
Hmmm. Bad news there about Eurovision Asia (since no news is bad news). I thought TVNZ might have had a shot at that with new artists, but without it, not so much. The original Eurovision is slightly overloaded with participants as it is; a New Zealand invite might be seen as tiring, or it might be welcomed; who knows. On another matter, I would like someone here to investigate (or ask) the BBC in the UK what is happening with the HoD, and what is happening for a post-Brexit Eurovision. Most importantly, will the BBC remain as the British broadcaster… Read more »
It’s not surprising that New Zealand is not mentioning Eurovision Asia, because NZ, like Australia, is not in Asia.
Why would Brexit impact on the BBC’s participation? I’m not sure I see your reasoning.
Hi Jonas. The easiest way to explain it is: Public Interest Budget. Beyond that it gets very convoluted. Basically, is a budget for Eurovision still in the interest of the public broadcaster (clue: it depends who you ask), and who specifically will be the recipient and treasurer of the money?
I’m just wondering whether Australia and New Zealand would be like Greece and Cyprus in the contest, sharing 12 points with each other etc.
I wouldn’t that mind if they participated but there are countries in Europe I’d like to see again, like Turkey, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein’s debut? But as long as they are actually members of the EBU, I don’t see a reason why they shouldn’t be invited as well, just the size of the Eurovision Song Contest which can also be sorted out, maybe by adding a 3rd semi final?
I should point out that many of the general public in the UK still don’t watch the semi finals at all (probably because we’re not in it). The organisation of so many live shows in a week is a practical nightmare and expensive as it is – in reality, adding a third semi final might be a step too far for the organisers. But good luck NZ all the same.
With 43 countries, one semi has 19 countries and the second has 18 as far as I remember.
Then if it’s just one new country like New Zealand, then there will be the same number of countries in each semi.
If we’re goinf to have some more, it will be a problem :\
Sad that UK people barely watch the semi finals 🙁
Like Greek and Cypriot televoting then, right?
For example, (queen) Eleni :3