Re: AUSTRALIA 2018
I've just listened through an ESC Insight interview with Australian HoD Paul Clarke, where he talks about the idea of a potential Australian national final, some behind-the-scenes stuff on 'AsiaVision', and more. I'd highly recommend listening through the whole thing, but I've provided a bit of a news release-styled summary below.
Discussing plans for a national final for Australia, Paul said: "I'm very keen on a Melodifestivalen kind of a scenario, where we build and we - well, maybe not a state-based one, but one where we say, right, we're going to take the best songs from the year, we're going to take the best artists that want to do this, we're going to connect them each with a song, and then we're going to just put on a couple of big shows, and see who the public and the judges go for."
He also acknowledges that it would 'take some time' to grow to the level of an MF-style contest, though, especially in terms of convincing established artists that it'd be in their interests to join a national final.
On the topic of AsiaVision, Paul said that talks have come across some issues due to complex political situations in the northern parts of the continent, most notably China. Representatives from Hunan TV told him, apparently, that they would not accept any situation in which Japan won the contest, and he also notes that there have been recent issues with China censoring performances from South Korean artists.
He indicated that there is a focus on trying to "deliver a show that is every bit as good as what Eurovision is here", which would involve ensuring sufficient funding and trying to bring across notable ESC figures like Christer Bjorkman, Jon Ola Sand and Sietse Bakker. The idea of an AsiaVision contest already has the support of large record companies, including Sony and Universal, he revealed.
"We're kind of halfway there [...] we're close," Paul said. The host location of the initial contest would depend on a number of factors, primarily related to funding; on this, he noted that both the Australian state of New South Wales, as well as its capital city Sydney, "have both indicated that they'll commit big funds" if allowed to host the inaugural contest. Similarly, he mentioned that Singapore proposed setting aside four million dollars to host, and that Hong Kong "have really made a play for it."
While noting that there are multiple ideas being floated for some kind of pan-Asian song contest, Paul expressed his preference for a specifically Eurovision style, saying the contest has "such a special format", and that "it's got more to it" than just being a competition. He has also indicated that he would "be the head of" any AsiaVision contest, that his business partner Stephanie would be the head of production, and that again he has been taking advice here from Bjorkman and Sand.