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Comedian Graham Norton, host of British television coverage
of the annual musical showpiece, sparked debate between
newspaper columnists in the two countries earlier this week when
he described Australia's inclusion as "kind of stupid".
But European voters and national jurors disagreed with the Irish
presenter as they put Dami Im through to Saturday's 26-song
Grand Final in Stockholm after judging her ballad "Sound of
Silence" among the top 10 of Thursday's 18-song semi-final.
The song was written by two Sydney-based composers and performed
by the South Korean-born Im, who won Australia's X Factor in
2013.
Im said her adopted country was delighted to be taking part in
the annual contest which was watched by almost 200 million
people last year and is famed for its regional bloc voting and
flamboyant costumes.
"Australia has been a big fan of Eurovision since the 1980s, we
love watching Eurovision," she told reporters after edging eight
countries, including Norton's Ireland, for a final berth.
"We just love the concept of coming together and playing music.
I am personally just very grateful to be able to be part of
this."
Australia is taking part for a second year after accepting an
invite from organizers, the European Broadcasting Union, who
have previously discussed expansion of the event first staged in
1956 and hosted by the winners of the previous edition.
Eclectic former winners include a Finnish hard rock band and a
bearded Austrian drag queen, while the show has helped launch
the careers of Swedish pop group ABBA and Canadian singer Celine
Dion, who won for Switzerland in 1988.
Azerbaijan and three-times winners Israel will join Australia as
non-European entries in Saturday's final (1900 GMT).
(Reporting by Reuters TV. Writing by Patrick Johnston)
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