For the seventh year in a row, the Austrian broadcaster ORF has decided to select its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest internally. The last time, the Austrian entry was chosen through a national final was in 2016, when Zoe’s “Loin D’ici” won Wer Singt für Österreich? against nine other acts.
The ORF program director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz revealed that they were currently brainstorming about the exact method of internally selecting the Austrian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Sweden. Groiss-Horowitz further explained why an Austrian national selection was not on the table for the upcoming year:
We already have a big talent show in the ORF 1 program with “Die große Chance – Let’s sing and dance”. Another competition in the form of a public selection for Eurovision is therefore not an option for the ORF.
It is yet to be revealed whether there will be an open call for songs to be submitted or whether the broadcaster is going to approach specifically targeted singers and songwriters.
In the last few years, the results of the internally selected entries by ORF have been very mixed:
2017 – Nathan Trent “Running On Air” – 16th place in the final
2018 – Cesar Sampson “Nobody But You” – 3rd place in the final
2019 – PÆNDA “Limits” – 17th place in the semi-final
2021 – Vincent Bueno “Amen” – 12th place in the semi-final
2022 – LUM!X ft. Pia Maria “Halo” – 15th place in the semi-final
2023 – Teya & Salena – “Who The Hell Is Edgar?” – 15th place in the final
Teya & Salena managed to give Austria its first Grand Final participation in the new decade, placing second in the semi-final and finishing in 15th place overall with a total of 120 points. Re-watch their performance here:
Do you think the internal selection is the right move from Austria? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on our social media profiles! @escbubble
