I can not say that I am a huge fan of this contest, but it fills out at least one Saturday a year for me. I have probably watched it every year since I was little, and I always used to look at it as something fun. The exciting part is always the voting. I never vote myself, but seeing what other countries vote is kind of fun.
Top 10 of 25 participants:
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. Greece
4. Armenia
5. Norway
6. Serbia
7. Turkey
8. Azerbaijan
9. Israel
10. Bosnia and Herzegovina
It did not hit me right away while watching the final results, but when I thought more about which countries gave most points to Russia, I noticed that most of them were neighbours, and many of them used to be a part of the Soviet Union. I find that kind of weird, and even unfair. Many of those countries that used to be a part of the Soviet Union, is full of Russians. Jam packed with Russians. Is not that like they can vote for them self?
Confused? Let me give you some facts and rules regarding European Song Contest. A very basic thing is that you can not vote for yourself. Why? It is obvious; most people would do so, even though their song was horrible. I can not blame them, if I could I would probably do the same thing myself. All the countries that did not make it to the final could also vote.I just do not understand why they can not figure out a better system for the voting!
You might think that I am unhappy with the result for my country or something like that, but that is not the case. The truth is that all countries gave a lot of votes to friends and neighbours. I do not know if this is just being nice or that they actually like the songs; but it is the system I discuss. It is horrible! Why can not they have several juries, like they did before? Or perhaps a combination between juries and "normal" voting? A competition like this can never, ever be fair. But they should make an effort to make it as fare as possible.
And then I must mention this; Eastern-Europe is completely different from Western-Europe. Why can not they split the two of them in half, because I do not think these to parts fits together at all. Music in Western-Europe can for example be completely different from Eastern-Europe. While watching the show, I was very surprised about many of the songs. I also hope that you understand what I mean when I say "Eastern-Europe" and "Western-Europe."
Something else that I think has developed into something horrific is the songs! Instead on focusing on what really matters, many do huge stage-shows. For me it looks more like an act, play, show or even like a game then what it actually is: a concert. All countries are able to create good songs, but when they need to create a song specific to this competition many do not success. Trust me, this is not the best of Europe. I was pissed of after the final. Not mainly because of the results, but because of the system. It is very unfair. In my eyes Western-Europe and Eastern-Europe do not fit together, and competing in such a competition with that horrible voting system just makes things even worse. They should fix it, or split the two parts up in two competitions. Professional juries would be something they should consider.
This is the start of the end of the Eurovision Song Contest. Something should change. If nothing does I would be happy if my country chose not to participate in this... thing. This is just awful.
