Eurovision Song Contest issues lengthy statement following calls for a ban

Last night’s Eurovision Song Contest saw UK artist Sam Ryder led by Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra – finishing in the top three for the first time in 20 years! But healthy evenings are not without controversy…

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Eurovision: Ukraine wins the competition with the UK in second place

Organizers of the Eurovision Song contest released a lengthy statement in the early hours of Sunday morning, regarding the matter that led to calls for a national jury injunction and an annulment of all votes. of the jury.

Shortly after Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra won this year’s competition, Eurovision bosses admitted “certain unusual voting patterns” had been detected in the results of the six countries.

Votes from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino were all replaced with composite scores, after unusual voting patterns were noticed overnight.

Acknowledging the controversy, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) released a full statement.

“In the analysis of the jury vote of the pan-European voting partner of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) after the second Costume Rehearsal of the Second Semi-Final of the Competition singing Eurovision 2022, certain types of irregular voting were identified in the results of six countries, “the EBU has begun in their address.

“In compliance with the Contest Voting Guidelines, the EBU worked with its voting partner to calculate an alternative aggregate result for each country involved for both the Semi-Finals and the Finals (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records.) This process has been acknowledged by the Independent Voting Watchdog.”

They added: “The EBU takes seriously any suspected attempt to manipulate voting at the Eurovision Song Contest and reserves the right to disqualify such votes in accordance with the Official Voting Instructions, regardless of whether the votes are cast or not. whether that election affects the outcome and/or outcome of the vote.”

Several followers at home called for a re-vote on Saturday night, with one Twitter user tweeting: “RATED JURIES “PRO”!”

The film, which follows UK contestant Sam Ryder of 2022, won the Evening Jury Voting with 283 points – the highest jury score since 2017.

TikTok sensation came in at second with his bop space man, marking the first time in 20 years the UK finished the night in third place.

“There’s so much gratitude, what an experience,” Sam burst out after learning that he had beaten favorites Spain and Sweden in the jury vote.

The Essex singer-songwriter has inspired an entire nation since his near-winning performance on Saturday night – with many famous faces flocking to congratulate the Eurovision runner-up.

Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson couldn’t resist taking to social media to praise Sam in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“Congratulations to Ukraine on winning the @Eurovision Song Contest 2022,” the Conservative Party leader began in his post-Eurovision message on Twitter.

“It’s a clear reflection of not only your talent but also your unwavering support for your fight for freedom.

“Extremely proud of @SamRyderMusic and how brilliantly he represented the UK tonight.”