ORF, the Austrian national broadcaster has confirmed to ESCToday the dates of the forthcoming Eurovision national selection and grand final.

The 2015 Austrian national selection  will consist of 4 shows aired on ORF 1 at 20:15 CET, and is set to kick off on 20 February with the grand final scheduled to be held in Vienna on 13 March.

A total of 20 acts will enter the competion on 20 February during the audition show and only 6 will proceed to the next phase after a deliberation by a special expert panel.  On 27 February the lucky acts will have to showcase their talent and vocal skills. On 6 March the 6 acts will perform a total of 2 new songs each (contributed from Austrian and international producers), a total of 12 songs will be premiered. Only 6 songs will proceed to the grand final. On 13 March the 6 acts will perform their respective entry and one of them will be selected to represent Austria at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. The first 3 shows of the national selection will be pre-recorded whilst the grand final will be a live televised show.

The 2015 Austrian national selection dates

• 20/02  Show 1 ( 20 acts- 6 will proceed to next phase)
• 27/02  Show 2 ( 6 acts will showcase their talent)
• 06/03 Show 3 ( 6 acts will perform 2 songs each- 12 songs will be premiered)
• 13/03 Grand final ( live show with 6 acts and 6 songs)

The Austrian broadcaster has also confirmed to ESCToday that Ms. Mirjam Weichselbraun will have the honour of hosting the 2015 Austrian national selection.

ORF  confirmed to ESCToday last month that in 2015 Austria will be opting for a national selection in order to select its Eurovision act and entry.

The 2015 Austrian national selection will consist of a total of 4 shows which will kick off in February. The candidates will be scouted by a special group of experts from the Austrian musical industry and ORF. Their aim will be to find the best talents in Austria. Anna F, one of Austria’s most famous artists and Alex Deutsch, a well known manager and musician are on the special committee pannel which will be responsible to select the artists that will battle for the golden ticket to Vienna, in the 2015 Austrian Eurovision national selection.

The 2015 Austrian entry and representative will selected by the Austrian audience during the 2015 Austrian nationl final scheduled to be held on  Friday 13 March.

Both Anna and Alex will be both responsible to scout out the best of Austria’s talent.

Usually the professional surroundings and the opportunity to present yourself to the public in an authentic way are decisive in terms of being successful. Together with ORF we have developed a format which, far away from classical talent shows, offers this platform and support.

Anna F. will be in charge of coaching the young hopefuls:

I have invited some national and international songwriters and producers for the project, with whom I have worked in the past years. I am looking forward to working on the sound and the songs together with them in the studio, and, if necessary, to giving advice.

Internationally acclaimed and recognised composers, songwriters and producers will be invited to take part in the project and work hand in hand with ORF and the 2015 Austrian Eurovision national selection team, in order to come up with the best possible entry for Vienna. ORF’s ultimate goal is to present an entry with an international musical standard which will appeal to the European audience and retain  a high technical and musical quality.

In 2014 ORF selected both its Eurovision entry and representative via an internal selection. Conchita Wurst was selected via an internal selection with her entry Rise like a phoenix to fly the Austrian flag in Copenhagen.

It will be very interesting to see who will follow into Conchita’s footsteps and defend the Austrian colours on home soil in Vienna next May. The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest is scheduled to be held at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna on 19, 21 and 23 May.

Austria debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 with Bob Martin and has won the event twice in 1966 with Udo Jurgens’ Merci Cheri and in 2014 with Conchita Wurst’s Rise like a phoenix.

Stay tuned to ESCToday.com for the latest news on Austria and the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest.