The Votes Are In
Serbia has won the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. After the surprising results of the semi final, a close look on the voting makes interesting reading:
Quickies
There's a first (and last?) for everything
For the first time in the history of the contest, Serbia won the contest (obviously)
Apart from the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, a debuting country won the contest
For the first time, an Ex-Yugoslav country won the contest
For the first time, Ireland finished last
For the first time, since the language rule was abolished in 1999, a song won that included not a single word in English
For the first time, Georgia received 12 points
For the fourth time in a row, F.Y.R. Macedonia qualified in the semi final to finish outside the Top10 in the final
For the fourth time in a row, Greece finished in the Top10 in the final
For the third time in a row, no Big4 country reached the Top10 (read more below)
For the seventh time in a row, a song performed in English finished last (from Ireland)
For The Freaks
The winner:
Serbia scored an average of 6,56 points per country. Under the current voting system, the highest average of points was achieved by the United Kingdom in 1976 (9,65), they lowest by Greece in 2005 (6,05) which leaves Serbia near the bottom on this hitlist. Marija was 34 points ahead of the runner-up, a value that lies somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, she received 12 points from 36 out of 41 countries (nine times) and twice the ten.
The language (of music) is universal:
It is widely spread rumour that English songs always do better in the contest. This year, the opposite was proved: a Song in Serbian won the competition. Furthermore, the multilingual entry from Ukraine finished second and the Bulgarian entry came 5th. On the other hand, we can see that switching to English in the last chorus does not bring success: F.Y.R. Macedonia finished 14th and Germany 19th.
Bottom 4 flashback:
Again, it should not be the year of the big 4 countries. The highest place was achieved by Germany: they were 19th. The United Kingdom finished second from last along with France (France would be one rank better taking into consideration the tie break rule) with Spain only two places better.
Diaspora Voting
The diaspora voting issue has been raised once again. Let's have a look at the most famous regions when it comes to neighour votes:
Scandinavia -
The Scandinavians sticked together: Sweden received 51 points in total, 32 of them from the neighbours including the top marks from Denmark and Norway. On the other hand 'only' 20 of the 52 points Finland achieved were given by the Scandinavians. The Finns themselves also favoured other countries: after the eight points to Sweden, they gave 10 to Hungary and 12 to Serbia.
Former Yugoslavia -
For the first time, a fromer Yugoslav country has won. But how have Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and F.Y.R. Macedonia voted. Actually, the other five countries have all given their top mark to Serbia. 46 of the 73 Mecedonian points came from other F.Y.R.s., the same counts for exactly half of the Slovene points (33 of 66). For Bosnia & Herzegovina we can count 37 out of 106. Overall, it has to be pointed out that Serbia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia have received points from every other ex Yugoslav country.
Former UDSSR -
Exactly one third of the competing nations in the final were former UDSSR countries. Therefore, detailed statistics would be rakish but we can see a clear trend: Russia got 12 points from three countries: Armenia, Belarus and Estonia. Latvia got ten points from Estonia and Lithuania. Georgia got its only top mark from Lithuania. Overall, almost all high marks were given by these countries to each other.
Other friendly neighbours -
For the first time, Andorra gave no points to Spain. Previously, Andorra always gave 12 to their neighbours. Once again, Germany has achieved its top marks from neigbouring countries Switzerland and Austria (seven points each). France received its - by far highest rank of the evening from Andorra: eight points.
Women rule the world? -
Well, that's a good question. At least they seem to have taken back the lead in the Eurovision Song Contest. While in 2006, the top4 music acts were (almost) entirely male, three female music acts finished in the top positions this year (even if the femininity of Verka from Ukraine might be put under question). Furthermore, the female (co-)composers did pretty well: Elitsa Stoyan finished 5th for Bulgaria and Magdi Rúzsa from Hungary came 9th. On the other Julija from Lithuania only was 21st with her band 4fun. Nevertheless, the three ladies scored at least once 12 points each.
The Winning Entry
It's time that the debate moves from the politics and fuss over voting and gets back to some real discussion about the winning song. Marija Serifovic reached some outstanding achievements on Saturday if recent history is considered. For the first time since Ireland's The Voice in 1996, a ballad won the Eurovision Song Contest and for the first time since 1991, the winning song featured no English lyrics. The last time a ballad won the Eurovision Song Contest was in Oslo back in 1996 when Eimar Quinn took the crown for Ireland. For those that do not count The Voice or the previous winner, Nocturn as a ballad, it would be the first ballad winner since Rock n roll years 1994.
Carola was the last Eurovision Song Contest winner to capture the Eurovision Song Contest crown with a song containing no English. Fångad av en stormvind was 100% sung in Swedish during the 1991 competition in Italy. Although Dana International won for Israel in 1998 with Diva, the Hebrew language song featured a catchy chorus of famous names, rather than full worded lyrics and Nocturn for Norway in 1995 only had two lines of words in what was widely accepted as a piece of classical music.
Marija recorded nine versions of the song in total, including the English version and the dance remixes, and she sang the song in Finnish during the winner's press conference, but she remained true to her native language in the competition itself and took the crown. She also broke with a tradition of performing part of the winning reprise of the song in English, as Bobbysocks and Carola have done after winning.
Actually: Eurovision Goes West
Despite all the talk of East Vs West at the Eurovision Song Contest this week, it should be noted that Serbia's victory moves the contest further west than it has been since Copenhagen in 2001. Since Denmark's victory moved the competition to Copenhagen, the contest has been held in Tallin, Riga, Istanbul, Kyiv, Athens and Helsinki. Belgrade, should the capital city once again host the Contest next year, would be the furthest West that the Eurovision Song Contest has been held for 7 years.
Belgrade's map reference position has a longitude of 20.32 East, further west than any host city in the last six years. It is also the first time since Copenhagen that the Eurovision Song Contest will take place in the Central European time zone, with a 21:00 local time start of the show instead of 22:00 as it has been since 2002.
So, despite the political/neighbourly/diaspora voting issues, is the Eurovision Song Contest actually making it's way back to Western Europe after all?
Reaction and 'tit-bits'
Verka sang 'Russia Goodbye'?
It seems clear that Verka Serduchka sang 'Russia goodbye' during the performance of the Ukrainian song during last night's Eurovision Song Contest. In the third repetition of what should be 'Lusha Tumbai' it seems very clear, even with a rolling 'r' when pronouncing 'Russia' on the way to a second place finish in the event. The act prompted severe political reaction when it won the national final in Ukraine in March, with reports of rioting against the song. The words had to be changed to conform to the Eurovision Song Contest rules, which do not allow political lyrics that name specific organisations, countries or people. If the EBU investigates this and finds that Serduchka did break the rules of the competition, they may decide to fine the Ukrainian broadcaster or remove points from the Ukraine, which could result in them dropping into the semi final. The words did not seem to effect the Russian viewers, who awarded the strange celebrity 8 points, behind Armenia with 10 and the Russian Star Academy winner, Koldun with 12 points.
Ireland to follow Monaco out?
Irish broadcaster, RTE, will review the country's position in the Eurovision Song Contest after finishing in last place for the first time in their history on Saturday night. An RTE spokeswoman confirmed to newspaper, The Irish Examiner yesterday. “We will definitely be having a sit-down and looking at our geographical position and going through the whole process...Without doubt that’s going to happen. It was a long night.” Lead singer of Irish representative, Dervish, Cathy Jordan is quoted as saying “We were really proud of them. They performed really well on the night and we were happy with the song but it just wasn’t our night...I enjoyed the experience. The performance felt really good and the feedback from home was great but it’s not what the masses, particularly in eastern Europe, want to hear.” Ireland hold the record for the most victories in the Eurovision Song Contest, having taken the crown seven times. Johnny Logan remains the only singer to win the competition twice as a singer and the country racked up a staggering four wins in five years in the 1990s. Irish fortunes have turned sharply since the removal of the rule stating countries must perform in their own language, and the country has struggled in recent years to reach the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. It seems that the race may indeed on to follow Monaco's lead in withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest unless there is a change in the qualification process or voting procedure. The Netherlands and Malta are both reported to be considering withdrawal after poor results in the semi final this year.
Swedish media: Eurovision died in Helsinki
Swedish tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen have stated their anger towards the results on the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. According to Aftonbladet the Eurovision Song Contest had died in Helsinki. Both tabloids say that the excitement of the voting procedure disappeared when neighbourly voting started to show its worst sides. The Swedish media blamed the host broadcaster Yleisradio partly in the bad result of the Swedish entry. In their view the broadcast picture of the entry was that bad that the Ark's performance didn't reach the viewers properly. Nor had the stage equipment worked as planned.
However, the European Broadcasting Union's representative Bjørn Erichsen pointed out that six million votes had been cast last night and the Western European countries had voted for the Easter European countries as well. Sweden finished 18th at this year's Eurovision Song Contest and due to that they will have to take part in the semifinal next year to get a chance to compete for the victory of the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.
Western European press reaction
Press reactions to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 final in Western European countries was cynical at best, with calls to withdraw from tabloid columnists and former participants alike in the weekend news. Bild Zeitung asks “Why are we even taking part any more?” and condemns the contest for its “weak songs, shameful exchange of points” and the fact that “we are paying”, referring to Germany’s status as one of the Big Four contributors to the show every year. After Roger’s disappointment – “I’d hoped for a top ten placing” he told journalists after the show – Bild lamented the fact that “it’s the same dilemma yet again” and suggests the Roger fell foul of Eastern European voting patterns.
The UK press had been extremely critical of the national entry, a fact which angered members of the group who expected more support from home country. British cynicism was summed up by the bookmakers’ rush to slash the odds of another nil points year for the UK, and the entry encountered criticism on all sides. Former winner Cheryl Baker (UK 1981) slammed Flying the Flag (For You) as “not contemporary enough”, suggesting that “Big Brovaz would have had a good chance… and when it came down to the two, Cyndi should have won”. Speaking to British tabloid The Sun, Cheryl sums up what she thinks the UK is doing wrong at Eurovision: “entering” is her simple answer.
The Irish Times dismissed the Serbian entry as “whining” and also focuses on the Eastern European voting tendencies on its online new portal ireland.com.
Swiss tabloid Blick. already riled over the early exit of former favourite DJ Bobo – in only 20th place in the semifinal – explains “none of the countries of Western and Northern Europe have a chance. This, however, has little to do with the quality of the presentations.” The Austrian broadcaster ORF speaks of a “new Europe” on its news portal, but also suggests that in this region, the “is taken more seriously as a pop competition, while in the old guard countries it is still regarded as the Schlager Grand Prix”.
However, several outlets also express support for the winning song. ORF continues to call Serbia’s entry a “classy song”, whilst France’s Le Monde reports that “finally, a good song has won”.