Austria hasn’t let the public help select its Eurovision entry for the last eight years, but that may be about to change if Martin Gastinger gets his way!
Our colleagues at ESC Kompakt quote the Kleine Zeitung who have it under authority that ORF’s new head of TV entertainment, Martin Gastinger, wants live performances of Austria’s potential ESC contributions “possibly to be put online for evaluation”.
Were this to be the case, it would give Eurofans in Austria to have a say in their representative for the first time since Zoë won Wer singt für Österreich? back in 2016.
This statement leaves some room for interpretation. It’s not clear whether ORF will produce a televised national final with an online vote, or if some video clips will be put to an online vote, similar to what Germany did in 2023 in the lead-up to Unser Lied für Liverpool.
Either way, it is an encouraging sign for Austrian Eurofans, who have wanted more say in the selection of their Eurovision representatives for years now.
ORF’s ESC scouts are currently looking for suitable acts and have already approached more than a dozen. Meanwhile, applications for Eurovision 2024 can still be sent to songcontest@orf.at until the end of September.
A jury of ORF editors and ‘ESC experts’ will decide which acts will be invited to present their potential contribution as part of a live performance. One thing is clear, Martin Gastinger and his colleagues now have to decide how these live performances will be presented to the Austrian public.
Would you like to see a fan vote to decide Austria’s Eurovision entry, or should ORF stick to internal selections? You can leave us a comment below!
A fan favourite heading into the final, Teya & Salena got Austria back to the Grand Final in Liverpool for the first time since 2018! Who the Hell is Edgar? finished 15th overall with 120 points!
