Eurovision Wrong Contest

The cliché is that all publicity is good publicity but Russia has inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy of the 21st century editions of Eurovision. Russia gave Azerbaijan’s entry the maximum 12 points but Baku gave Russia absolutely nada. Now, irrespective of the merits of each song, the Kremlin is accusing the Azeris of a diplomatic snub. With its old imperial master stamping its feet, this outpost of the Near Abroad dutifully complied, saying it was all a mistake and Russia should have had ten points (the benefits that accrue to a country without any independent oversight). Basically, Moscow is saying Baku should have voted politically. The quality of the song (any song) is irrelevant. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, is going further and making vague, ominous threats towards the Eurovision organisers, as if this is another Western conspiracy to harm the peoples of the Federation.


The government of Finland didn’t throw such a hissy fit after being treated in exactly the same way by Estonia (12 points from Helsinki to Tallinn, none from Tallinn back across the Gulf of Finland) and Estonia wouldn’t have changed its results if it did. Maybe Finland is in mourning for its disappointing overall result. Maybe Finland is more mature than Russia. Maybe Finland is biding its time for next year.

Azerbaijan could happily award Russia ten points (not the maximum to leave the rigged nature of the decision open to doubt) as it didn’t affect the standings at the top – Russia remained fifth. If it had changed the nature of the winner, Azerbaijan could have been facing a lengthy ban from Eurovision, wiping away all the prestige it had from hosting it last year. Politicking cuts both ways as well – neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan gave each other anything, old enmities from the unresolved ‘frozen’ Nagorno-Karabakh War still trumping everything else.

It is just about possible that Baku cocked up their counting (though by a suspiciously large margin) as Montenegro struggled with this independent sovereignty lark, forgetting the age-old gripe of phone-in radio hosts that callers switch off their own radio whilst on the line, with amateurish feedback throughout Podgorica’s awards. I think it was Bulgaria whose link went down actually for several minutes (though the Swedes were prepared for such an eventuality with pre-prepared filler). Ultimately, though political voting damages the integrity of Eurovision (the reason why 50% of each country’s vote is now decided by five professional musicians from each state, cutting back the public’s hitherto 100% choice, to partially counter such a trend), justice does triumph. Denmark did not win because it received 12 points from Sweden – it won because it was the best song and romped home by a considerable margin. The Kremlin controls many things but not that.