FAQ – We frequently get questions concerning the Eurovision Song Contest. In this new category, we will answer the most frequently asked questions (FAQs). Some people ask us why a small country such as Andorra gets as many points as a big country like Russia or the UK. Isn’t that undemocratic? One could certainly argue that this gives an unfair proportion of power over the overall result to the few voters in Andorra, while a vote in Russia or Germany counts much less into the result. On the other hand, the fact that once a year every single European country is really 100% equal is part of the Eurovision spirit and part of what makes Eurovision great.
With the introduction of professional juries that account for 50% of the vote and consist of 5 members each, this problem was considerably reduced.
How do you feel about the distribution of “power” during the voting?
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It’s not undemocratic at all, I don’t think. They’re a country so they should have as much right as any other country to give the maximum 12 points. It works out fairly, really: Song with the most votes gets 12, next gets 10 and so on, the same way it does for Russia, Germany, France, etc. so it’s not done any more unfairly.
Of course the system is not really equal for all countries, but I think it’s fun as it is, since the voting can’t be perfect anyway…
Threy shouldn’t allow Monaco’s jury voting (see 2005, 2006)
It is not undemocratic, irrespective of the size of the country. More undemocratic is the block/neighbour/diaspora voting … Nevertheless, I have to say that I miss my lovely neighbours in ESC. Hope they could return soon !!!
I think it`s the most fair way to do it, even better for bigger countries. I mean, that’s the way Russia can recieve the same amount of points that they´re giving. If we consider the population, Russia could give more points than they could recieve…
It’s an interesting question and maybe in the strict sense of the word it is a bit undemocratic. BUT I would not want to change it. After all, it’s a song contest, it’s entertainment, it’s fun! We’re not trying to elect a government here. It would be a shame if people took ESC so seriously as to end up being all about political wrangling and power struggles. if I want to watch that (which I don’t particularly) I’ll watch the news!
I do think it is important to be as fair as reasonably possible. But it’s a contest not between individuals, but between COUNTRIES, so it’s not unreasonable to have a voting system based on countries rather than individuals too. You could say the bigger countries have a better chance of winning because they have a bigger population to draw talent from. So should we redraw the map then and divide Europe into equal size random bits and let them compete for the ESC? Even if we did would anyone watch it?!!
Imagine if ESC was to rearrange the voting to be proportional to population size. Someone would have to administer it and they would probably have to be paid – taking resources from more useful things but then again maybe one less person unemployed
. There would probably be all sorts of arguments about how to do it eg would they have to adjust the percentages every year to take account of changes in population size?!
The article said: “On the other hand, the fact that once a year every single European country is really 100% equal is part of the Eurovision spirit and part of what makes Eurovision great.”
I couldn’t say it any better than that.
And then, “why do countries have an equal ONE vote in the UN council?” come on, that’s a ridiculous question…
Totally agree.
& in UN we have the Big5, too:D
lol!
As long as every Country sends 1 Song, this is not unfair at all. Every Country sends 1 Song & every Country gives 58 Points. Since most People, that ask such Questions know more about Football than about ESC: Do you think the Team of San Marino should have less than 11 Players on the green than French, since they have less Inhabitants? No, that’s Equality & in ESC we have the same:)