Eurovision Song Contest 2012: Baku, Azerbaijan

[greek_boy]

Apparently they prevented a terrorist attack from happening during the ESC?

I heard that too

[Joona]

Can't understand why Albania and Turkey were so high, they were truly awful.

Juries for the former, diaspora for the latter. Or so I think!

I was watching Spain's performance again today and was thinking that it was so much better than Albania, but Albania clearly did better because of it's location.

[Terence]

Apparently they prevented a terrorist attack from happening during the ESC?

I heard that too

Imagine if that actually happened, live on screen I don't know the facts so I won't blame anyone or any country.

[greek_boy]

Apparently they prevented a terrorist attack from happening during the ESC?

I heard that too

Imagine if that actually happened, live on screen I don't know the facts so I won't blame anyone or any country.

I think they prevented terrorist attacks in Dusseldorf and Oslo too, at least that's what i read on the net.

[greek_boy]

Someone from esctoday posted the following:


http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/musik/dikt ... chlager-em

http://www.journalisten.se/nyheter/yttr ... eurovision

http://www.svd.se/kultur/ebu-skarper-re ... 240521.svd

Interesting news:
according to reports in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter today the EBU will be changing their rules so that “dictatorships” will be excluded from the EBU and ESC if they don’t respect basic, democratic human rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, independence and credibility. According to another source the specific countries considered for exclusion or sanctions from the EBU are Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. This is – among other things – the result of the harassment of a Norwegian reporter by Azeri customs officers on Saturday and the articles cite the head of Norsk Kringkasting, Hans-Tore Bjerkaas, but Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria have also been involved. The formal decision will be taken at a EBU conference in Strasbourg in June.

[Vindrag]

I really hope they decide to exclude them from the competition in the future! Happy to see them showing some balls. One of the best ESC tracks ever is from Georgia however, but they've not been very good after that.

Sopho - Visionary Dreams

[Vindrag]

Just purchased Spain's entry for 2012. Along with Loreen, the only ESC tracks I'll be owning from this year. Spain would've probably won if it participated in the early 90's.

[greek_boy]

Just purchased Spain's entry for 2012. Along with Loreen, the only ESC tracks I'll be owning from this year. Spain would've probably won if it participated in the early 90's.

So you didn't buy the compilation?

Spain's ballad is not that dated! I think it still sounds good in 2012.

[greek_boy]

I really hope they decide to exclude them from the competition in the future! Happy to see them showing some balls. One of the best ESC tracks ever is from Georgia however, but they've not been very good after that.

Sopho - Visionary Dreams

Hard to believe that actions will be taken against them! Belarus has dictatorship too but EBU gave them the right to host the junior song contest (no1curr though).

Azerbaijan should have been out of the contest after the incident with the National Security Ministry which called those who voted for Armenia in 2009.

Let me remind you that Lebanon decided to withdraw from the contest, because they wanted to show commercials during the Israeli performance and of course EBU did not allow them to do it. Guess it's alright for Azerbaijan to question those who voted for the Armenian song ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBcPX7hWbmc

I'm not sure whether they showed the Armenian performance on Azeri TV or not.

[heppolo]

Azerbaijan should have been out of the contest after the incident with the National Security Ministry which called those who voted for Armenia in 2009.

I don't think EBU will ever act full throttle though.

[greek_boy]

[Tansike]

Sopho - Visionary Dreams

Ohhhhhhh i love this song too!

Was my favourite then, with Hanna Pakarinen!

btw today there was a article about the terrorist attack in the media here, but everyone is thinking that it's not true...

[Terence]

I hope sanctions are really taken, and they don't blinded by money or whatever. It's getting ridiculous.

[Virgostar]

Interview with Australia's commentators, Julia Zemiro & Sam Pang

Bear in mind that both of them are comics/a comedian and a comedienne and that we Australians like to take the mickey out of everything...including previous Eurovision winners.

[greek_boy]

This is so ridiculous

Did Azerbaijan cheat in voting?

Dirty money talks....

oting patterns are mostly predictable in Eurovision, but seeing Malta give 12 points to Azerbaijan last week made us wonder...

Yesterday 12points.tv dug deep into some voting statistics, concluding that so called block voting in the end didn't really affect the result of the contest. Today we are taking a closer look at something else in the field of voting statistics: the votes Azerbaijan has been receiving in the last few years. Just for the record, we are just basing ourselves on statistics here, we do not want to to trivialise the quality of the Azerbaijani songs in the past three years. After all, there were three good Swedish songs from Azerbaijan in a row!

Suppose you'd really want your country to do well in Eurovision, what could you do best to assure that? Well, the most obvious answer is of course: send a good song. But what if that hasn't got you where you want to, entirely? Would there be other ways? We dived into one example we thought was remarkable: Azerbaijani results over the last three years.
Some examples

For the third year in a row, Malta granted 12 points to Azerbaijan. For the second year in a row Cyprus granted 8 points to Azerbaijan, 10 in 2010. Bulgaria awarded 12 points in 2010 and 10 this year. Lithuania and Moldova are two more examples of countries giving amazingly high votes to last year's Eurovision winner in most recent years.

The number of televotes per country is not a figure that has to be shared by the voting countries as far as we know, but we assume that these countries don't have massive amounts of televotes. Due to their size or due to the Eurovision enthusiasm in the countries concerned.

The figures above are actually the top scores for Azerbaijan in the last years, but after seeing how this country approached Eurovision by pouring money into making everything look pretty, one would think that this could extend into ensuring voting went their way as well. It would be extremely easy to rig a top score there by paying a 100 or so people a fair price for sending a maximum number of sms messages each.

To us, it is striking that during the last three years (especially 2010 and 2012), Azerbaijan mainly got its votes from friendly big brother Turkey, friendly little brother Georgia, Soviet big brothers Russia and Ukraine (the latter being responsible for the production of the Azerbaijani Eurovision entry in the last years) and small countries in the rest of Europe.

Of course we wouldn't dare to insinuate anything, but we wonder if this is something worth investigating since it seems pretty easy to fix voting via sms. One could ask if results were balanced between jury voting and televoting, or were these votes cast by telephone or by sms voting? Some countries tend to phone in more votes, and others prefer to send SMS, so would a rush of identical SMS votes suddenly cause suspicion?

Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark are four countries that have a very big and active Eurovision fanbase. Guess how many points these countries gave Azerbaijan this year? Can anyone say nil?

UPDATE 1 JUNE: Apparently, the Cypriot jury made a complaint to CyBC that they hadn't placed any votes for Azerbaijan. This could mean that Azerbaijan had to receive a LOT of televotes to score 8 points. We are awaiting confirmation.

UPDATE 1 JUNE, part 2: The Israeli jury didn't place any votes on Azerbaijan. Israel gave 8 points to Azerbaijan however, that means the televoters granted it 10, but more likely 12 points.



http://12points.tv/i-general/item/869-dirty-money-talks

[greek_boy]

Eurovision tweets:

Tooji ?@Tooji_
Where’s the UK Stefan Raab? He’s hiding at BBC Scotland
@Anggun_Cipta Hey sweetheart. Still listening to ur song. Very nice meeting u:) love from Norway

http://twitter.com/#!/Tooji_


Anggun Official ?@Anggun_Cipta

@Tooji_ hi beautiful person! Just so you know, when you performed my dancers and I did your routine from our green room's couch. You rocked!

http://twitter.com/#!/Anggun_Cipta

Anggun Official ?@Anggun_Cipta

@KurtCalleja Hi dearest, it was nice meeting you too! Come to Paris we hv better food than in London ????. Best of luck for everything. Hugs

http://twitter.com/#!/KurtCalleja

Kurt Calleja ?@KurtCalleja

@SolunaSamay - can't believe a week has already gone by since the Eurovision final hope all is well!

Kurt Calleja ?@KurtCalleja

@Anggun_Cipta - how are you dear? I am in London xx was great getting to know you... I hope we meet in the future mon amour

----------------


Where’s the UK Stefan Raab? He’s hiding at BBC Scotland

http://www.escinsight.com/2012/05/31/wh ... -scotland/


Stop blaming everyone else over your Eurovision loss… look in the mirror

http://www.escinsight.com/2012/05/30/st ... he-mirror/

[Terence]

The idea of having 3 different cities for 2013 is floating around... can you imagine semifinal 1 in Malmö , semifinal 2 in Gothenburg and the grand final in Stockholm??

It seems like a burden for the fans who would have to be like nomads around Sweden!

Shall I open the new topic already?

[Plym]

Everything in that last link was so true.

Jade's song was great - great position.
Blue's song was good - good position.
The Hump's song was forgettable and boring - crap position.

(Not even gonna mention that poor Josh guy)

[greek_boy]

The idea of having 3 different cities for 2013 is floating around... can you imagine semifinal 1 in Malmö , semifinal 2 in Gothenburg and the grand final in Stockholm??

That would be so cool! It would cost a lot though.

Helena Paparizou approached by SVT?

After the intense rumors in Sweden about Måns Zelmerlöw and Sarah Dawn Finer to host the 2013 edition of Eurovision Song Contest new rumor comes online: Helena Paparizou to be the 3rd host of the show according to blogs and forum sites.

The Greek superstar has not confirmed or denied the information yet but it’s clear the Swedish broadcaster is already thinking “big” and if such a trio reaches the stage of the Eurovision arena it’s already a success for SVT. Besides Måns Zelmerlöw, SVT examines the possibility of Eric Saade the fans of which are millions across Europe!

I would love to see Helena as a host!

Italian televoting figures online

Italian national broadcaster announced the televoting figures for the first semifinal and the grand final of Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Obviously Romania was the favourite song for the Italians in this year’s Eurovision edition. Check the detailed results below:

FIRST SEMIFINAL TELEVOTING
27.22% for Romania
13.87% for Albania
09.97% for Moldova
08.55% for San Marino
06.32% for Russia
04.67% for Greece
04.61% for Switzerland
03.90% for Iceland
03.80% for Cyprus
03.38% for Ireland

Just missing out:

Finland
Israel
Hungary

FINAL TELEVOTING
28.32% for Romania [12]
12.92% for Albania [10]
11.22% for Moldova [08]
07.39% for Serbia [07]
05.23% for Russia [06]
03.66% for FYR Macedonia [05]
03.13% for Ukraine [04]
03.12% for Sweden [03]
02.79% for Turkey [02]
02.43% for Germany [01]

Just missing out:

Spain
Lithuania
Greece

what a mess!

[greek_boy]

Israel Jury Vote:

12-Spain
10-Sweden
8- Italy
7-Cyprus
6-Greece
5-Norway
4-Moldova
3-Romania
2-Ukraine
1-Albania

Portugal

JURY VOTE:

Semifinal 2

12 – Estonia
10 – Serbia
8 – Bosnia – Herzegovina
7 – Slovakia
6 – Sweden
5 – Georgia
4 – Croatia
3 – Malta
2 – Belarus
1 – Slovenia

Grand Final

12 – Spain
10 – Germany
8 – Estonia
7 – Serbia
6 – Italy
5 – Bosnia – Herzegovina
4 – France
3 – Albania
2 – Iceland
1 – Russia



Combined Jury vote and televoting:

Semifinal 2

12 – Estonia
10 – Sweden
8 – Serbia
7 – Lithuania
6 – Bulgaria
5 – Bosnia – Herzegovina
4 – Slovakia
3 – Norway
2 – Ukraine
1 – Georgia

Grand Final

12 – Spain
10 – Germany
8 – Russia
7 – Estonia
6 – Moldova
5 – Serbia
4 – Romania
3 – Sweden
2 – Italy
1 – Ukraine


German and Finnish jury voting revealed

Finnish YLE was first just a few days after the Grand Final of the 2102 Eurovision Song Contest followed today by the German broadcaster. Finnish jury: Anne Hautala (presenter, journalist), Christina Wheeler (musician), Freeman (musician), Maki Kolehhmainen (producer, musician), Leri Leskinen (producer, musician)

Grand Final

Jury voting

Sweden 12 pts
Estonia 10 pts
Denmark 8 pts
Spain 7 pts
Russia 6 pts
Iceland 5 pts
France 4 pts
Germany 3 pts
Albania 2 pts
Norway 1 pt

Combined vote:

12 Sweden
10 Estonia
08 Russia
07 Iceland
06 Albania
05 Denmark
04 Ireland
03 Spain
02 Serbia
01 Germany

German jury comprised of Anke Engelke, Tim Bendzko, Ben (singer, presenter), Miezekatz (singer MIA) and Sabine Henry. This is how they voted in the second semi-final and the final:

Grand Final

Jury voting

Sweden 12 pts
Estonia 10 pts
Iceland 8 pts
Denmark 7 pts
Albania 6 pts
Serbia 5 pts
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4pts
Spain 3 pts
Italy 2 pts
Ireland 1 pt

Combined voting

12 Sweden
10 Serbia
08 Turkey
07 Russia
06 Albania
05 Denmark
04 Estonia
03 Iceland
02 Italy
01 Greece

Second semi-final

Jury voting

Sweden 12 pts
Estonia 10 pts
Slovenia 8 pts
Serbia 7 pts
Netherlands 6 pts
Bosnia-Herzegovina 5 pts
Slovakia 4 pts
Croatia 3 pts
Malta 2 pt
Portugal 1 pt

Combined

12 Sweden
10 Serbia
08 Netherlands
07 Estonia
06 Turkey
05 Bosnia&Herzegovina
04 Slovenia
03 Portugal
02 Bulgaria
01 Croatia

[naughty]

Helena Paparizou approached by SVT?

After the intense rumors in Sweden about Måns Zelmerlöw and Sarah Dawn Finer to host the 2013 edition of Eurovision Song Contest new rumor comes online: Helena Paparizou to be the 3rd host of the show according to blogs and forum sites.

The Greek superstar has not confirmed or denied the information yet but it’s clear the Swedish broadcaster is already thinking “big” and if such a trio reaches the stage of the Eurovision arena it’s already a success for SVT. Besides Måns Zelmerlöw, SVT examines the possibility of Eric Saade the fans of which are millions across Europe!

I would love to see Helena as a host!

I know for certain Sarah Dawn Finer will be the host next year, she's amazing and she only got great reviews for her job hosting the melodifestivalen this year, and her english is perfect so it wouldn't be a problem for her, also her role as Lyndaa is hilarious, she should comeback next year

I would love to see Mans Zelmerlow hosting too, he has this charming personality that make you watch, also I think his english is very good too,

Don't care about helena tbh; I think they should ask Charlotte Perelli to join hosting.

I'm excited for Melodifestivalen 2013 more than Eurovision "no surprises here" but I feel next year will be one of the best,

[NoAngels]

Eurovision is usually co-hosted I guess, so Sarah and Mans should share the stage together although I don't really like Mans but as I hear he's become a big television personality in Sweden.

[Fragola]

Full Italian televotes

Final

1 Romania – Mandinga – Zaleilah 28.32%
2 Albania – Rona Nishliu – Suus 12.92%
3 Moldova – Pasha Parfeny – L?utar 11.22%
4 Serbia – Željko Joksimovi? – Nije Ljubav Stvar 7.39%
5 Russia – Buranovskiye Babushki – Party For Everybody 5.23%
6 Macedonia – Kaliopi – Crno I Belo 3.66%
7 Ukraine – Gaitana – Be My Guest 3.13%
8 Sweden – Loreen – Euphoria 3.12%
9 Turkey – Can Bonomo – Love Me Back 2.79%
10 Germany – Roman Lob – Standing Still 2.43%
11 Spain– Pastora Soler – Quédate Conmigo (Stay With Me) 2.38%
12 Lithuania – Donny Montell – Love Is Blind 2.36%
13 Greece – Eleftheria Eleftheriou – Aphrodisiac 2.28%
14 Cyprus – Ivi Adamou – La La Love 1.86%
15 Iceland – Greta Salóme & Jónsi – Never Forget 1.74%
16 Bosnia Herzegovina – Maya Sar – Korake Ti Znam 1.43%
17 Denmark – Soluna Samay – Shoud’ve Known Better 1.25%
18 Malta – Kurt Calleja – This Is The Night 1.25 %
19 Ireland – Jedward – Waterline 1.13%
20 Estonia – Ott Lepland – Kuula 1.05%
21 Azerbaijian – Sabina Babayeva – When The Music Dies 0.68%
22 Hungary – Compact Disco – Sound Of Our Hearts 0.66%
23 France – Anggun – Echo (You And I) 0.65%
24 Norway – Tooji – Stay 0.61%
25 UK – Engelbert Humperdinck – Love Will Set You Free 0.46

Semifinal

1 Romania- Mandinga – Zaleilah 27.22%
2 Albania- Rona Nishliu – Suus 13.87%
3 Moldova- Pasha Parfeny – L?utar 9.97%
4 San Marino- Valentina Monetta – The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh – Oh Oh) 8.55%
5 Russia- Buranovskiye Babushki – Party For Everybody 6.32%
6 Greece- Eleftheria Eleftheriou – Aphrodisiac 4.67%
7 Switzerland: Sinplus – Unbreakable 4.61%
8 Iceland- Greta Salóme & Jónsi – Never Forget 3.90%
9 Cyprus- Ivi Adamou – La La Love 3.80%
10 Ireland- Jedward – Waterline 3.38%
11 Finland- Pernilla – När Jag Blundar 2.52%
12 Israel- Izabo – Time 2.19%
13 Hungary- Compact Disco – Sound Of Our Hearts 2.09%
14 Latvia- Anmary – Beautiful Song 2.00
15 Montenegro- Rambo Amadeus – Euro Neuro 1.54%
16 Austria-Trackshittaz – Woki Mit Deim Popo 1.36%
17 Denmark- Soluna Samay – Should’ve Known Better 1.25%
18 Belgium- Iris – Would You 0.77%

[Terence]

It seems diaspora did influence the Italian televote!

[greek_boy]

Don't care about helena tbh; I think they should ask Charlotte Perelli to join hosting.
,

no pls, charlotte does not look good on TV. ppl made fun of her in 2008

It seems diaspora did influence the Italian televote!

Indeed, Italians just did not care about the contest