Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016
| Eurovision Song Contest 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |
 Australia
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| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Internal Selection | |||
| Selection date(s) |
Artist: 3 March 2016 Song: 11 March 2016 |
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| Selected entrant | Dami Im | |||
| Selected song | "Sound of Silence" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (1st, 330 points) | |||
| Final result | 2nd, 511 points | |||
| Australia in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Australia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Sound of Silence" written by Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci. The song was performed by Dami Im, who was internally selected by the Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) to represent that nation at the 2016 contest in , Sweden. Im was announced as the Australian representative on 3 March 2016 during the Sydney concert of Conchita Wurst, Austria's Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner. The song Im performed, "Sound of Silence", was presented to the public on 11 March 2016.
Australia debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2015 by invitation from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) as a "one-off" special guest to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Eurovision. On 17 November 2015, the EBU announced that SBS had been invited to participate in the 2016 contest and that Australia would once again take part. In 2015, Australia was guaranteed a spot in the final of the contest and was allowed to vote during both semi-finals and the final; however, for the 2016 contest, Australia would have to qualify to the final from one of two semi-finals and could only vote in the semi-final in which the nation was allocated to compete.
Australia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 10, "Sound of Silence" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 14 May. It was later revealed that Australia placed first out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 330 points. In the final, Australia performed in position 13 and placed second out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 511 points.
Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has broadcast the Eurovision Song Contest since 1983, and the contest has gained a cult following over that time, primarily due the country's strong political and cultural ties with Europe. Paying tribute to this, the 2014 contest semi-finals included an interval act featuring Australian singer Jessica Mauboy. Australian singers have also participated at Eurovision as representatives of other countries, including Olivia Newton John (1974, United Kingdom), two-time winner Johnny Logan (1980 and 1987, Ireland), Gina G (1996, United Kingdom), and Jane Comerford as lead singer of Texas Lightning (2006, Germany).
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