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Eurovision is biased so why watch it? An older article but still applicable http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050516/full/news050516-13.html http://www.nature.com

Eurovision is biased so why watch it? An older article but still applicable http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050516/full/news050516-13.html http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050516/full/news050516-13.ht...

moondowner 13y ago
The songs, the choreography, the kitsch, you just can't miss that :)
- tobiasu 13y ago
  I would rather stab myself in the eyes with a spoon.
- walshemj 13y ago
  Well for UK watching it to enjoy Terry Wogans (and now Graham nortons) snarky/camp commentary is the main point.
  - JonnieCache 13y ago
    Norton doesn't drink anywhere near enough whiskey during the event to even touch Wogan's eurovision legacy.
    - walshemj 13y ago
      True but he hasn't had the decades of exposure that Terry had
arethuza 13y ago
To have a party? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvg/features/party http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvg/features/party http://www.joel.co.uk/eurovision.php http://www.joel.co.uk/eurovision.php
sentenza 13y ago
Yes, that's why Germany never wins. Or Finland. Or Israel. So I'm a physicist too and let me tell you: Take these calculations with a grain of salt. It is very easy to underestimate the complexity of what actual people do. Voting blocks exist and they do skew the results, but they are not strong enough to determine the winner alone, despite what many commentators in the third world of Eurovision (UK, Germany) think. So far, no song has won Eurovision without getting a lot of points from countries outside its alleged voting block. Other biases in the system are also present, such as an unfair advantage for western europeans due to the juries, and the four orders in magnitude difference between vote weight. If you watch it (or make simulations on it) without the intention of just having some harmless fun, you're doing it wrong.
- juhanima 13y ago
  Germany won in 2010 and 1982. Finland 2006. Israel two times in a row, 1978 and 1979. Again in 1998. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eurovision_Song_Contest_winners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eurovision_Song_Contest... Edit: Now I realize the parent was just being sarcastic. Anyway, it's good to set the record straight. Double edit: Come to think of it, that was a bit of like 'the most hated countries' list. Or maybe the most isolated. Good stuff!
tragomaskhalos 13y ago
I cannot watch the voting for longer than 5 minutes without bellowing in outrage at how blatantly political the whole thing is. They could save time by dispensing with the music entirely and just asking everyone who their favourite countries are.
andyking 13y ago
I don't think the voting blocks are political - they're cultural. A song that gets played on the radio in Britain is likely to get a lot of airplay in Ireland, and the Irish vote will go to the familiar British artist. If someone's on Europa Plus in Moscow every hour, chances are the stations in Ukraine and Latvia and so on will also play them. It's not down to "we really hate Britain, so let's all gang up and not vote for them," it's down to "we're familiar with the people who are celebrities in our own region of Europe." The Eurosceptic British media would like us to think the rest of Europe dislikes us, hence the "political voting," "let's just leave Eurovision" narrative that comes out in the press every May.

moondowner 13y ago

The songs, the choreography, the kitsch, you just can't miss that :)

tobiasu 13y ago
I would rather stab myself in the eyes with a spoon.
walshemj 13y ago
Well for UK watching it to enjoy Terry Wogans (and now Graham nortons) snarky/camp commentary is the main point.
- JonnieCache 13y ago
  Norton doesn't drink anywhere near enough whiskey during the event to even touch Wogan's eurovision legacy.
  - walshemj 13y ago
    True but he hasn't had the decades of exposure that Terry had

arethuza 13y ago

To have a party? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvg/features/party http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0070hvg/features/party http://www.joel.co.uk/eurovision.php http://www.joel.co.uk/eurovision.php

sentenza 13y ago

Yes, that's why Germany never wins. Or Finland. Or Israel. So I'm a physicist too and let me tell you: Take these calculations with a grain of salt. It is very easy to underestimate the complexity of what actual people do. Voting blocks exist and they do skew the results, but they are not strong enough to determine the winner alone, despite what many commentators in the third world of Eurovision (UK, Germany) think. So far, no song has won Eurovision without getting a lot of points from countries outside its alleged voting block. Other biases in the system are also present, such as an unfair advantage for western europeans due to the juries, and the four orders in magnitude difference between vote weight. If you watch it (or make simulations on it) without the intention of just having some harmless fun, you're doing it wrong.

juhanima 13y ago
Germany won in 2010 and 1982. Finland 2006. Israel two times in a row, 1978 and 1979. Again in 1998. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eurovision_Song_Contest_winners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eurovision_Song_Contest... Edit: Now I realize the parent was just being sarcastic. Anyway, it's good to set the record straight. Double edit: Come to think of it, that was a bit of like 'the most hated countries' list. Or maybe the most isolated. Good stuff!

tragomaskhalos 13y ago

I cannot watch the voting for longer than 5 minutes without bellowing in outrage at how blatantly political the whole thing is. They could save time by dispensing with the music entirely and just asking everyone who their favourite countries are.

andyking 13y ago

I don't think the voting blocks are political - they're cultural. A song that gets played on the radio in Britain is likely to get a lot of airplay in Ireland, and the Irish vote will go to the familiar British artist. If someone's on Europa Plus in Moscow every hour, chances are the stations in Ukraine and Latvia and so on will also play them. It's not down to "we really hate Britain, so let's all gang up and not vote for them," it's down to "we're familiar with the people who are celebrities in our own region of Europe." The Eurosceptic British media would like us to think the rest of Europe dislikes us, hence the "political voting," "let's just leave Eurovision" narrative that comes out in the press every May.