Sheldon Riley is set to perform in the Grand Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.
Riley was among 10 performers, from a crop of 18, who made it through to the next stage from Semi Final 2.
The Australian will compete in the Grand Final against his fellow Semi Final 2 performers from Belgium, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Sweden, Romania and Serbia. They will be joined by the successful Semi Final 1 contestants fromUkraine, Armenia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.
They will be joined by the big five – Spain, UK, France, Italy and Germany – who since 2000 have had an automatic pass to the Grand Final.
The Eurovision Grand Final will be beamed into Australia at 5 a.m. eastern time on Sunday, May 15. It will be repeated again at 7:30 p.m. that night, however, in order to vote, Australian viewers will need to watch the early morning broadcast live.
Riley said he is absolutely ecstatic to be though to the next round.
“Tonight I just wanted to deliver my best performance and make Australia proud,” he said.
“It’s a huge thrill that people across Europe have appreciated ‘Not the Same’, and I’m happy I get to be on the stage again this weekend. I can’t wait to be part of the Grand Final in front of 200 million people, and see what all the other amazing acts are going to bring to the stage.
“This is honestly a dream come true for me. I am so thankful for all the support from fans over here and everyone back home.”
Emily Griggs, Australian head of delegation and SBS commissioning editor, said there’s a big weekend ahead and she’s sure the whole country will get behind Riley.
“Australia is through to the Grand Final once again and we couldn’t be prouder of Sheldon. He has truly captured the attention of Europe and has been representing the country with style and one sensational voice. He’s soared to new heights here in Turin with his reimagined performance.”
Paul Clarke, the Australian creative director of Eurovision and director of Blink TV, added: “So great to see Europe loving Sheldon, he so deserves to be in the Grand Final this weekend. We are so excited. We will improve again and be competitive as on Sunday morning.”