Sophie Ellis-Bextor Reveals Bizarre Eurovision Rules That Made Her Turn Down Judge Role

Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed some “confusing” Eurovision rules that made her turn down the chance to judge the competition, including a ban on bringing babies

The much-anticipated Eurovision Song Contest finale is this weekend and fans are looking forward to what is sure to be an entertaining show full of weird and wonderful European sounds. .

But it turns out that the competition also has unusual rules for judges.

Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor has revealed she was offered the chance to be a judge on Eurovision but turned down the role because of the “confusing” rules she was expected to follow.

Each country has a panel of industry experts who rate behaviors based on their vocals, song composition and overall impression.

The votes of the judges accounted for 50% of the total score of the country.

Being a Eurovision judge is a serious job that comes with strict rules – these are the odd requirements Sophie reveals.

What are the weird Eurovision rules?

Sophie’s hit Murder On The Dancefloor was the most played song in Europe in 2002.

The singer told Radio Times that due to its success, she had a “conversation” about being a judge on the show.

But she revealed that some strange rules prevented her from taking the job, including a ban on babies.

“I have a very small baby and I am still breastfeeding, and they won’t let me take it with me,” she said.

She then joked: “I’m pretty sure the baby will be carefree but, you know, I think part of what I like about Eurovision is that it has a lot of rules… it’s not fun.”

The no-infant rule wasn’t the only rule that led Sophie to drop the role; She also revealed that the judges are expected to remain silent throughout the judging process.

Speaking of the silence rule, she said: “We wouldn’t be allowed to speak while we were watching either, and I thought, ‘I can’t watch Eurovision in silence’.”

Despite turning down the role, Sophie said she still enjoys watching Eurovision and warned UK fans ahead of this year’s show: “We should probably try to get another ‘nul points’ score.

“There are always political opinions (for the vote), again, that’s part of the fun. I think we really like that. ”

* Eurovision final starts Saturday 14 May at 8pm on BBC One