Why the results from Eurovision don’t matter

Every year the Eurovision contestants and the public are being robbed. The political and biased votes from the jury stand right in our faces.

In the grand final the jury from each country gives points. And they are unfair. This is well known at Eurovision Song Contest. Some countries give votes based on political reasons. The artists’ performance and talent seems to come second and only if convenient. This messes up everything. Each year. And I am not talking about UK this year.

Why do we allow favoritism and basically corruption happen in front of us? Why do we take it as an entertaining fight with politics?

Isn’t music an universal language that should be understood and evaluated quite similarly by the jury of each country?

EBU (European Broadcasting Union) didn’t do anything for years and seems to not care about the drama that follows every year.

Why do I support politics, conflicts and personal bias at Eurovision Song Contest by voting and buying tickets? By watching the content that never starts without an ad? This were my questions last night and this morning.

Everyone knows the jury is not fair and that the competition is politized.

I was neutral and didn’t know how to position myself towards this until Eurovision 2021 edition. This year it was so striking to me that I finally understood.

Here are some examples of what can be considered unfair moments of jury votes at the 2021 edition:

• Some countries gave one point to Switzerland while most others graded it with 12 points (maximum).
• Cyprus gave 12 points to Greece and Greece gave 12 points to Cyprus.
• Russia gave 12 points to Moldova.

This kind of personal preferences and biased grades are going on for years at Eurovision. It is tolerated by the EBU and the public. Maybe that is because EBU don’t want to upset the member countries that pay a nice fee every year. Or it is simply a very difficult subject to address. And this is not the only thing that makes me feel more and more that Eurovision is a money making machine and a sandbox for politics.

Almost each rehearsal has an audience and tickets sold. Singers perform every other day during the Eurovision week. What you get to see in the final is a series of smaller profitable shows. Then comes the votes by SMS whose fees are one euro per vote. In 2009 there were 10 million votes by call or SMS according to BBC.

There is this so called Big 5. Five countries financially contribute to the show so their candidates skip directly to the Grand Final as a privilege. Talk about fair competition.

I guess striping the countries of their national juries would feel for many as a lack of unity. It would strip them of the feeling of getting involved, of having a say — of participation. This is against European values and the initial goal of the contest. But so is giving points in a political and biased way.

It’s time to switch back to only televotes from the public, like it seems to have been like before 2003. Or to find another solution.

In 2020 we seen how politics pushed and crossed limits and got involved in many aspects of our lives. Seeing them show up into Eurovision 2021 as well, makes the cup overflow.

It feels unfair.

Contestants invest time, energy and countless of hours thinking about the song. They think the staging, the artistry and message put into their performance. Some postpone their plans because of so much time and energy they need in Eurovision.

There is an entire team behind, working for months to have everything promoted and to go well on stage. Dozens of promo interviews and hours of work. Tons of make up and only 3 hours of sleep.

Almost daily rehearsals during the Eurovision week.

Their voice, skill and performance don’t matter when they are evaluated in the grand final. They are evaluated so differently, most of times so visible and in such a preferences-based way, that is striking. It’s sad.

Adults juries ruining it with their personal and political views in front of all Europe. That is what they also do when they select which news to show, the people they hire. The tone. National Television Stations. What a shame.

I am not saying all of the participant countries do that but those who do it quite ruins the chart. This is why it doesn’t matter on which place you ended up as a contestant on the points chart.

I have all respect for these artists that come here with hope and being physically and emotionally invested into the competition. They have a message to tell the world meanwhile, at the tables in every country, jury trying to make a statement.

I can only be happy for the couple of artists I discover and follow later on. They also get the so needed exposure. The final — not worth watching. To me now, feels like I was tricked. What a waste of time, my friend said. And she’s right.

I highly dislike favoritism and pretending. And to me it feels like Eurovision serves that constantly at the moment of casting in the votes.

Be mindful of what you indirectly give your time to. Remember you support what you give time and attention to. Stay away from superficial things that don’t help your growth or spiritual nourishment.

Remember to support genuine artists you like. Cherish your friends more than you cherish stars and take care of yourself.

In the end I feel the votes of the public saved the situation. Anyways, if you are a participating artist, don’t stress about your “place” on the results chart. It doesn’t matter. You’re a winner to yourself and to who sees you.

Let music be free. Let us be one.

note:

This is a personal blog post. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated.

Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.

The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.