SBS have announced that Josh Martin has replaced Paul Clarke as Australia’s Head of Delegation, with Paul shifting his attention to the Creative Director role for Australia’s Eurovision involvement.
Josh Martin joined SBS in 2017, and will step up from his role at Commissioning Editor for Entertainment and Food at SBS. He has previously worked for most of the major Australian television over a 20-year career, producing some of SBS’s most popular food and travel series. He was also Supervising Producer of cable-network Foxtel’s Music Channels, where he oversaw Big Day Out broadcasts, Live Earth Australia and the ARIA Red Carpet Shows.
Speaking to Australian blog Aussievision, Josh Martin said that the transition to Head of Delegation has been in the works for some time:
We (SBS) has been transitioning to this for a while now. I joined SBS about 3 years ago, with our last internal selection, Jessica Mauboy. I was passionate about SBS and Australia having our own internal selection show and commissioned Eurovision – Australia Decides. What this means is that Eurovision has become a year-round project for us, and the time was right for us to re-align the roles. Paul and I have worked together for many years – all the way back to when I was a producer and presenter on a music show at the ABC, so this just feels like a natural evolution.”
He also has a fairly eclectic taste in favourite Eurovision entrants, proving his Eurovision credentials:
“In 2019, I loved the Tulia performance and was devasted when they didn’t qualify. Keiino were awesome, Conan Osiris was mesmerising. Further back, who can go past Eleni’s Fuego, Rasmussen, Ilinca and Alex Florea’s yodel/rap duet, Mans, Loreen – the list is endless! I really do like some classic Eurovision too like France Gall, Domenico Modugno’s Volare and do I really even need to mention Abba?!”
Paul Clarke, who has been Australia’s Head of Delegation since Australia’s debut at Eurovision in 2015, will remain with SBS as Creative Director for Eurovision – a title which he has also held for some time. As Head of Delegation, he oversaw Australia’s entry to Eurovision, Dami Im‘s close win at Eurovision in 2016, and Australia’s semi-permanent position in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Stepping down from Head of Delegation responsibilities allows Paul to focus on the creative production side of Australia’s coverage – as well as Director of his production company Blink TV.
Congratulations Josh on your appointment! Paul – you will be missed (but never too far!)
This year we are having lots of new HODs
Okay good for them. I’m still worried that the same creative director who was in charge of the mess in 2018 – or whatever happened behind the scenes – is still involved, but at the same time they’ve done a great job the other years and the staging for Kate was magnificent, and he’s a good guy who’s clearly passionate for Eurovision so I’m glad he’s sticking around. 2018 might have been a slip and made me paranoid on their behalf. I really like their songs produced by DNA tho, and I think they have a good chance to do… Read more »
They should get rid of Bjorkman’s meddling, too. It should be Australia’s national selection, not Mellfest 2.0
How is he was involved though? You probably giving him too much credit if that’s the case.
He used the word ‘meddling’, [eyeroll] here we go… Someone who believes Sweden decides Australia’s entry, and that Russia decides America’s president. Lol…these people.
I like this guy! Wide, interesting range of Eurovision favorites. He’s a real one.
Based on his favorites, we can assume that his intention is to keep Australia Decides a very diverse selection.