Eurovision Song Contest fans recently discovered that Australia has been invited to join in the fun of the annual singing contest. Hang on a minute sport, Australia is not in Europe! Well, strike me down with a boomerang, you’re right, it’s not! But who gives a didgeridoo about that? Of course, there will be those that say Israel, Morocco and Azerbaijan are not in Europe, but hey, it is after all just a bit of fun, right?
This year’s 60th European Song Contest extravaganza will take place in the Central European country of Austria, in its capital Vienna. The country won the right to host the contest when Conchita Wurst, who was their representative choice of singer last year, won in Copenhagen. A total of 40 countries will compete in this year’s song contest. The final will be broadcast on Saturday 23rd May.
It is considered to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world today, yet right now the Great Barrier Reef that lays off the Queensland coast in Australia is under threat. It is decaying. Its condition is worsening, but why?
There are two main reasons – climate change and coal. The biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef is climate change. So far, virtually nothing is being done to avert this issue.
Category: Australia / Great Barrier Reef / Coal
Recently weather maps in Australia began to show two entirely new colours on them. Purple and pink have been introduced by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology due to the extreme temperatures that have been recorded in the country.
Australia has seen a record heatwave, which has caused hundreds of bush fires right across the country. The increased temperature has forced the country’s meteorologists to redraw their national temperature scales upwards.
Category: Australian Heatwave / Meteorology / Weather
The Australian city of Melbourne has edged out Canada’s Vancouver to take the title of the world’s most liveable city for the first time in almost a decade. The city’s mayor Robert Doyle said he was “absolutely delighted” with the news. This year Vancouver fell to third place behind the Austrian city of Vienna.
The Australian metropolis topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s global liveability survey of 140 cities. Australian cities featured prominently in the top ten, with Sydney ranked sixth and Perth and Adelaide in joint 8th place. Canadian cities also did well, with Toronto and Calgary holding fourth and fifth place respectively.
The survey is conducted twice a year. Cities were scored on political and social stability, crime rates, access to quality health care, cultural events, the environment, education and the standard of infrastructure. Vancouver missed out on the top spot because its infrastructure had fallen due to periodic closures of a key motorway.
Category: Cities / Survey / Lifestyle
Never mind crocodiles and sharks, it is killer funnel-web spiders that you have to look out for in Sydney, Australia. Recently several residents were bitten by a plague of these poisonous arachnids. The spiders are a real menace at this time of the year, especially for Sydneysiders. The backyard spider, if it bites can kill you in the space of two hours - so meeting one is best avoided.
