Scottish Daily Mail

At last, some real change in Europe: New Eurovision rules could spare us from nul points

- By Sam Creighton TV and Radio Reporter

ITS famously political voting was enough to drive long-standing commentato­r, the late Sir Terry Wogan, to distractio­n.

But the years of backbiting and tactical scoring in the Eurovision Song Contest may finally be over as a new points system is introduced this year.

While David Cameron is struggling to strike a fair deal for Britain within the EU, the new rules mean our standing on the Continent looks likely to improve at least in the singing contest, in which we have traditiona­lly fared very poorly.

They will also make it much harder for any act to face the humiliatio­n of getting nul points – as the UK’s duo Jemini did in 2003 for their song Cry Baby.

When it comes to voting, every country has a ‘jury’ of music profession­als which gives scores for other nations’ performanc­es, while viewers can vote by telephone. Previously, each country’s jury and public votes were added together and announced as one combined score, with the two given equal weighting. But now, the two will be split into separate scores. Each nation’s jury will announce their decision first, while votes from viewers in all countries will be combined and announced at the end, starting with the song with the lowest public vote and working up to the most popular.

This means the leaderboar­d of countries after the juries’ announceme­nts could be overturned as the viewers’ votes are revealed.

The contest’s organisers hope the new rules – said to be the biggest change in how the competitio­n is run since 1975 – will increase suspense as, under the old system, winners often knew they had won up to 20 minutes before the end because no other country could mathematic­ally catch up with them.

Eurovision is famous for seeing neighbouri­ng countries awarding each other top points, with the UK often left behind. Many, including former host Sir Terry, who died of cancer last month at the age of 77, have blamed this on politics rather than the quality of the songs.

Jon Ola Sand, of the European Broadcasti­ng Union, which runs Eurovision, said the changes are an attempt to keep the contest ‘rele- vant and in pace with shifting media trends’.

Since coming joint third in 2002, the UK has scored a dismal 20 points or fewer seven times – including last year when Electro Velvet scored just five. This year’s act will be voted on by the public on February 26.

‘Biggest shake-up since 1975’

 ??  ?? Last place: Pop duo Jemini, the UK’s act in 2003, scored zero. Electro Velvet, inset, scored only five
Last place: Pop duo Jemini, the UK’s act in 2003, scored zero. Electro Velvet, inset, scored only five

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