Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest
Encyclopedia
There have been many varied voting systems at the Eurovision Song Contest
. Currently, the winner of the Contest is selected by means of a positional voting system
. Each country ranks all the entries and assigns twelve points to their favourite entry, ten points to their second favourite entry, and eight down to one point to their third to tenth favourites. Countries are not allowed to vote for themselves.
The current method for ranking entries, first in 2009
, is a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote
and the votes of juries
made up of music professionals. In the past, small demographically-balanced juries made up of ordinary people were used to rank the entries. After the widespread implementation of telephone vote in 1998
, juries were only used in case of televoting malfunctions or a weak telephone system. In 2003
, Eircom
's telephone polls system ceased to operate normally; the Irish broadcaster, RTÉ
, did not receive the votes on time and instead used the votes of a panel of judges. In the first years of the telephone vote, the lines were opened for a short period after the performance of the final song; since the 2010 Contest, the lines have opened before the first song, allowing viewers to vote during the performances.
The 1956 Contest
did not have regional voting. The BBC
had used the idea of contacting regional juries by telephone in their national competition to choose their 1956
song. The EBU later adopted the idea of contacting the international juries by telephone, and was used from the next contest, and used until 1993. In 1994, the Contest saw the first satellite link-up to juries.
For the announcement of the votes, the presenters of the Contest connect by satellite to each country in turn, inviting the spokesperson to read out that country's votes in French
or English
. Originally, the presenters would then repeat the votes in both languages, but since 2004
, due to time constraints, the votes have only translated from English to French and vice-versa instead of repeating the votes in their original language. To offset the extension to voting time caused by the increased number of participating countries, from the 2006
Contest onwards, each country's one- to seven-point votes have been added automatically to the scoreboard as that country's spokesperson was introduced, with only the eight-, ten- and twelve-point scores being read out. The scoreboard displays the number of points each country has received and, since 2008
, a progress bar indicating the number of countries that have voted.
, where France
, the Netherlands
, Spain
and the United Kingdom tied for first place. Since no tie-breaking system had been previously decided, it was determined that all four countries be jointly awarded the title. In protest, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Portugal did not participate the following year.
The current tie-breaking rule is that, in the event that two or more countries tie for first place, the song that received points from the greater number of countries is the winner. This system is sometimes called the "count-back". If there is still a tie, the second tie-breaker is to count the number of countries who assigned twelve points to each entry in the tie. Tie-breaks continue with ten points, eight points, and so on until the tie is resolved. Ties for other places are only officially resolved if they matter for qualification purposes.
In 1991
, the tie-break procedure was put into action when Sweden
and France had both scored 146 points at the end of voting. At the time, the tie-break rule was slightly different: the first tie-break rule (the country voted for by the most other countries wins) was not yet in use. Both Sweden and France had received the maximum of twelve points four times. Only when the number of ten-point scores had been counted could Sweden, represented by Carola
with the song "Fångad av en stormvind
", acclaim its third victory, having received five ten-point scores against France's two. Thus, the French song, "Le Dernier qui a parlé..." performed by Amina, came second with the smallest ever losing margin.
had been randomly allocated, with 39 countries voting on the 25 entries, the probability of scoring no points would be approximately 1 in 530 million). Under the modern rules this means that the song failed to make the top ten most popular songs in any country.
Under the second-most-used scoring system, however (see below), jurors gave points individually and only to their single favourite song, a system which might be expected to result in songs regularly not being awarded any points. Even so, it was not until 1967 that that occurred under that scoring system — the seventh year of its operation.
When it does happen, it is known as nul points . It should be noted, however, that the phrase nul points (nor, for that matter, any reference to a country having not received points from another country's voters) is never actually read out during the presentation of the Contest. Besides nul points would be incorrectly spelled in French, and the correct spelling (nul point) is never used as an equivalent of "no points" or "zero points" (which would be pas de point or zéro point).
Entries which received nul points, since the introduction of the current scoring system in 1975
are as follows:
In his book Nul Points, comic writer Tim Moore
interviews the first twelve of these performers to find out if their Eurovision score was the end of their music career or just the beginning.
Since the creation of a semi-final in 2004 and two semi-finals in 2008, more than thirty countries vote each night - even the countries eliminated or already qualified. Thus occurrences of nul points become rarer; it would require a song to place less than tenth in every country. In the 2004 semi-final
, Switzerland's "Celebrate" by Piero Esteriore & The MusicStars received nul points, but only 32 countries out of 36 voted, and in the first 2009 semifinal, where only 20 countries voted, Czech Republic's "Aven Romale" by Gypsy.cz received nul points.
Statistical analysis of the results between 2001 and 2005 suggests the occurrence of regional block voting; it is a matter of debate whether it is primarily explained by conscious political alliances or by a tendency for culturally close countries to have similar musical tastes. Historically, the United Kingdom and France would exchange points at an average of 6.5 points per contest. Greece and Cyprus invariably exchange points; since 1997, the two countries have always exchanged the maximum twelve points between themselves whenever possible. Several countries can be organised into voting blocks which regularly award each other high points:
Bjørn Erichsen, former director of Eurovision TV, disagrees with the assertion that regional block voting significantly affects the outcome of the contest, arguing that Russia's first victory in 2008 was only possible with votes from thirty-eight of the participating countries.
The most-used voting system other than the current one was that used for the 1969 contest. This system had been used between 1957 and 1961, and later between 1967 and 1969. Ten jurors in each country each gave a single vote to their favourite song. In 1969 this resulted in four countries tying for first place (UK, Netherlands, France, and Spain), and there was no tie-break procedure. A "second round" voting in the event of a tie was introduced to this system in 1970.
Between 1962 and 1966, a voting system closer to the current system was used. In 1962 each country awarded its top three one, two and three points; in 1963 the top five were awarded one, two, three, four and five points, and from 1964 until 1966, each country awarded its top three one, three and five points. With the latter system, there was an additional rule that each country could choose not to give points to three countries, but award points to two countries (giving one a three and the other a six). In 1965 Belgium awarded the United Kingdom six, and Italy three points. The system also permitted a country to give a single award of 9 points, but it never happened.
The 1971, 1972, and 1973 contests saw the jurors "in vision" for the first time. Each country was represented by two jurors - one older than 25 and one younger, with at least ten years' difference in their ages. Each juror gave a minimum of one point and a maximum of five points for each song. In 1974 the previous system of ten jurors was used, and the following year the current system was introduced. Spokespeople were next seen on screen in 1994 by satellite link up to the venue.
With the introduction of two semi-finals in 2008 a new method of selecting finalists was created. The top nine songs ranked by televote qualified, along with one song selected by the back-up juries. This method in most cases meant that the tenth song in the televote placing failed to qualify, and attracted some criticism, especially from F.Y.R Macedonia
, who in both years placed 10th in the televote. In 2010 the system used in the 2009 final, where the winner is selected by a combination of televoting and jury votes, was also used to select the semi-finalists.
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. Currently, the winner of the Contest is selected by means of a positional voting system
Positional voting system
A positional voting system is a ranked voting method in which the options receive points based on their position on each ballot, and the option with the most points wins....
. Each country ranks all the entries and assigns twelve points to their favourite entry, ten points to their second favourite entry, and eight down to one point to their third to tenth favourites. Countries are not allowed to vote for themselves.
The current method for ranking entries, first in 2009
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
, is a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote
Televoting
Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone.- Broadcast contest televoting :...
and the votes of juries
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
made up of music professionals. In the past, small demographically-balanced juries made up of ordinary people were used to rank the entries. After the widespread implementation of telephone vote in 1998
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...
, juries were only used in case of televoting malfunctions or a weak telephone system. In 2003
Eurovision Song Contest 2003
The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...
, Eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
's telephone polls system ceased to operate normally; the Irish broadcaster, RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, did not receive the votes on time and instead used the votes of a panel of judges. In the first years of the telephone vote, the lines were opened for a short period after the performance of the final song; since the 2010 Contest, the lines have opened before the first song, allowing viewers to vote during the performances.
The 1956 Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956...
did not have regional voting. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
had used the idea of contacting regional juries by telephone in their national competition to choose their 1956
Eurovision Song Contest 1956
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956...
song. The EBU later adopted the idea of contacting the international juries by telephone, and was used from the next contest, and used until 1993. In 1994, the Contest saw the first satellite link-up to juries.
For the announcement of the votes, the presenters of the Contest connect by satellite to each country in turn, inviting the spokesperson to read out that country's votes in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Originally, the presenters would then repeat the votes in both languages, but since 2004
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
, due to time constraints, the votes have only translated from English to French and vice-versa instead of repeating the votes in their original language. To offset the extension to voting time caused by the increased number of participating countries, from the 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
Contest onwards, each country's one- to seven-point votes have been added automatically to the scoreboard as that country's spokesperson was introduced, with only the eight-, ten- and twelve-point scores being read out. The scoreboard displays the number of points each country has received and, since 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
, a progress bar indicating the number of countries that have voted.
Tie-breakers
In the event of a tie for first place after all the points have been announced, there is a tie-break procedure. It was realised that a tie-break procedure need be predetermined following the 1969 ContestEurovision Song Contest 1969
The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th in the series. It was the first time that the contest resulted in a tie for first place, with four countries each gaining 18 votes. Since there was at the time no rule to cover such an eventuality, all four countries were declared joint winners...
, where France
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
France is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest and has entered the competition fifty-four times since their debut at the very first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the very first contest, and has only been absent from two...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. It has missed only four contests so far...
, Spain
Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest
Spain debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1961, finishing 9th. Since 1999, Spain is one of the "Big Five" and therefore automatically allowed to participate in the final because they are the five biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union.Spain has won the contest...
and the United Kingdom tied for first place. Since no tie-breaking system had been previously decided, it was determined that all four countries be jointly awarded the title. In protest, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Portugal did not participate the following year.
The current tie-breaking rule is that, in the event that two or more countries tie for first place, the song that received points from the greater number of countries is the winner. This system is sometimes called the "count-back". If there is still a tie, the second tie-breaker is to count the number of countries who assigned twelve points to each entry in the tie. Tie-breaks continue with ten points, eight points, and so on until the tie is resolved. Ties for other places are only officially resolved if they matter for qualification purposes.
In 1991
Eurovision Song Contest 1991
The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 4 May 1991 in Rome. Due to the Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from Sanremo to Rome, which was perceived to be more secure....
, the tie-break procedure was put into action when Sweden
Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest
Sweden has participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 51 times since their debut in 1958. Since 1959, the Swedish representative has been chosen through an annual televised competition, known since 1967 as Melodifestivalen. Three times – 1964, 1970, and 1976 – Sweden didn't participate...
and France had both scored 146 points at the end of voting. At the time, the tie-break rule was slightly different: the first tie-break rule (the country voted for by the most other countries wins) was not yet in use. Both Sweden and France had received the maximum of twelve points four times. Only when the number of ten-point scores had been counted could Sweden, represented by Carola
Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist , better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music...
with the song "Fångad av en stormvind
Fångad av en stormvind
"Fångad av en stormvind" is a 1991 single by Swedish pop singer Carola which was the winning Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 in Rome, with the smallest margin of victory since 1969....
", acclaim its third victory, having received five ten-point scores against France's two. Thus, the French song, "Le Dernier qui a parlé..." performed by Amina, came second with the smallest ever losing margin.
Nul points
Since each of the participating countries casts a series of preference votes, under the current scoring system it is rare that a song fails to receive any votes at all (for example, if the points in the final of the 2010 ContestEurovision Song Contest 2010
The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest, broadcast from the Telenor Arena in Bærum, Greater Oslo, Norway. It was the third time Norway had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. The 2010 winner was Germany with Lena singing "Satellite",...
had been randomly allocated, with 39 countries voting on the 25 entries, the probability of scoring no points would be approximately 1 in 530 million). Under the modern rules this means that the song failed to make the top ten most popular songs in any country.
Under the second-most-used scoring system, however (see below), jurors gave points individually and only to their single favourite song, a system which might be expected to result in songs regularly not being awarded any points. Even so, it was not until 1967 that that occurred under that scoring system — the seventh year of its operation.
When it does happen, it is known as nul points . It should be noted, however, that the phrase nul points (nor, for that matter, any reference to a country having not received points from another country's voters) is never actually read out during the presentation of the Contest. Besides nul points would be incorrectly spelled in French, and the correct spelling (nul point) is never used as an equivalent of "no points" or "zero points" (which would be pas de point or zéro point).
Entries which received nul points, since the introduction of the current scoring system in 1975
Eurovision Song Contest 1975
The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the contest hosted by SR and held in Stockholm, Sweden. The arena for the event was the newly built Stockholm International Fairs in Älvsjö in southern Stockholm. ABBA's victory in Brighton the previous year gave Sweden the right to host the...
are as follows:
- In 1978Eurovision Song Contest 1978The Eurovision Song Contest 1978 was the 23rd of its kind, and was held on 22 April 1978 in Paris. With Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone as the presenters - the first time more than one presenter hosted the contest - the contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel, with their...
, Norway's "Mil etter milMil Etter Mil"Mil etter mil" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978, performed in Norwegian by Jahn Teigen.The song is a ballad, with Teigen describing his long journey to find someone and telling this person that he simply cannot walk any further - having walked "mile after mile"...
" by Jahn TeigenJahn TeigenJahn Teigen is a Norwegian singer and musician. Jahn received a knighthood from H.M. King Harald V. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest three times, in 1978, 1982 and 1983. His given name was Jan, he added the silent H later. Since October 2006 he has been living in Sweden...
. - In 1981Eurovision Song Contest 1981The Eurovision Song Contest 1981 was the 26th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 4 April 1981 at the Simmonscourt Pavilion of the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin. The presenter was Doireann Ní Bhriain...
, Norway's "Aldri i livetAldri I Livet"Aldri i livet" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981, performed in Norwegian by Finn Kalvik.The song is a ballad, with Kalvik telling his lover that "Never in my life have I thought of leaving you", and asking whether she thinks of him when he is not with her.The song was...
" by Finn KalvikFinn KalvikFinn Bjørn Kalvik is a Norwegian singer and composer.-Early career:He was born in Fåvang, but his family moved to the working class district of Grorud, Oslo in 1952. Early in his career Kalvik found success putting music to the poetry of popular Norwegian writers André Bjerke and Inger Hagerup...
. - In 1982Eurovision Song Contest 1982The Eurovision Song Contest 1982 was the 27th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 24 April 1982 in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. The presenter was Jan Leeming. The opening of the contest showed a map of Europe, with the translation "Where is Harrogate?" popping up on-screen from...
, Finland's "Nuku pommiinNuku Pommiin"Nuku pommiin" was the Finnish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, performed in Finnish by Kojo....
" by KojoKojo (singer)Timo Kojo is a Finnish pop rock singer. He started his recording career in 1977 when his band, Madame George, released their only album: Madame George: What's Happening?...
. - In 1983Eurovision Song Contest 1983The Eurovision Song Contest 1983, the 28th in the series, was held in Munich, then West Germany, on 23 April 1983. The presenter was Marlene Charell. Corinne Hermes was the winner of this Eurovision with the song, "Si la vie est cadeau". This was Luxembourg's fifth victory in the contest which...
, two entries: Turkey's "OperaOpera (song)"Opera", written by Buğra Uğur and Aysel Gürel, was the song performed by Çetin Alp & The Short Waves that represented Turkey at the Eurovision Song Contest 1983....
" by Çetin AlpÇetin AlpÇetin Alp was a Turkish pop music singer.Çetin Alp & The Short Waves performed Turkey's entry, Opera, in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 in Munich, West Germany. Alp came joint last, alongside Spain's Remedios Amaya, scoring nul points...
and Short Wave and Spain's "¿Quién maneja mi barca?¿Quién maneja mi barca?"¿Quién maneja mi barca?" was the Spanish entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, performed in Spanish by flamenco singer Remedios Amaya....
" by Remedios AmayaRemedios AmayaRemedios Amaya is a flamenco singer and former Eurovision Song Contest contestant. Amaya's first records, Luna nueva and Seda en mi piel were an example of flamenco-rock. She reappeared in 1997, alongside Vicente Amigo, with Turu Turai .-References:...
. - In 1987Eurovision Song Contest 1987The Eurovision Song Contest 1987 was the 32nd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1987 in Brussels, Belgium after Sandra Kim's win the previous year. The presenter was Viktor Lazlo. Johnny Logan was the winner for Ireland with the song "Hold Me Now"...
, Turkey's "Şarkım Sevgi ÜstüneSarkim Sevgi Üstüne"Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne" was the Turkish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, held in Brussels, Belgium. The song was sung by Seyyal Taner & Lokomotif in Turkish....
" by Seyyal Taner and Grup LocomotifSeyyal Taner & LocomotifLokomotif is a Turkish band that represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with the song "Şarkım Sevgi Üstüne" . They failed to score any points and finished last....
. - In 1988Eurovision Song Contest 1988The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1988 in Dublin. The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca...
, Austria's "Lisa Mona LisaLisa Mona Lisa"Lisa Mona Lisa" was the Austrian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, performed in German by Wilfried.The song was performed twelfth on the night, following Germany's Maxi & Chris Garden with "Lied für einen Freund" and preceding Denmark's Kirsten & Søren with "Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?"...
" by Wilfried. - In 1989Eurovision Song Contest 1989The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 6 May 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Switzerland gained the hosting rights after Celine Dion's victory in Dublin the previous year. The presenters were Lolita Morena and Jacques Deschenaux. Riva was the winner of...
, Iceland's "Það sem enginn sérÞað sem enginn sér"Það sem enginn sér" was the Icelandic entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989, performed in Icelandic by Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson....
" by Daníel Ágúst. - In 1991Eurovision Song Contest 1991The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 4 May 1991 in Rome. Due to the Gulf War and mounting tensions in Yugoslavia, RAI decided to move the contest from Sanremo to Rome, which was perceived to be more secure....
, Austria's "Venedig im RegenVenedig Im Regen"Venedig im Regen" was the Austrian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991, performed in German by Thomas Forstner....
" by Thomas ForstnerThomas ForstnerThomas Forstner is a singer who has represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. In 1989 he performed "Nur ein Lied" in Lausanne, giving Austria the fifth place — their highest position since their last win in 1966 - and in all subsequent contests. Forstner was selected to represent...
. - In 1994Eurovision Song Contest 1994The Eurovision Song Contest 1994 was the 39th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1994 in the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The presenters were Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Gerry Ryan. The pair hosted the evening in French, English and Irish...
, Lithuania's "Lopšinė mylimaiLopšine Mylimai"Lopšinė mylimai" was the Lithuanian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, performed in Lithuanian by Ovidijus Vyšniauskas...
" by Ovidijus VyšniauskasOvidijus VyšniauskasOvidijus Vyšniauskas is a Lithuanian musician from Marijampolė city.He entered the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin with Lithuania's first entry, the ballad "Lopšinė mylimai" , which did not receive any points.Terry Wogan, a commentator of Eurovision from the UK said that "Ovidijus...
. - In 1997Eurovision Song Contest 1997The Eurovision Song Contest 1997, was the 42nd Eurovision Song Contest and it was held at the Point Theatre Dublin, Ireland, on 3 May 1997. Boyzone member Ronan Keating and Carrie Crowley were the presenters of the show....
, two entries: Norway's "San Francisco" by Tor EndresenTor EndresenTor Lars Oskar Endresen is a Norwegian singer and composer.He has entered the national Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest numerous times, but has only won it once, and represented Norway in the international final in 1997, where he came last with nul points.Endresen was part of a popular Norwegian...
and Portugal's "Antes do adeusAntes Do Adeus"Antes do adeus" was the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, performed in Portuguese by Célia Lawson.The song is a ballad, with Lawson recounting the events leading to the end of a relationship. She sings that her lover gradually moved away from her and returned things which they...
" by Célia Lawson. - In 1998Eurovision Song Contest 1998The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The presenters were Terry Wogan and Ulrika Jonsson...
, Switzerland's "Lass' ihnLass' ihn"Lass' ihn" , was the Swiss entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.The song was sung by Gunvor, who wore a sleeveless, glittering dark red dress for her Eurovision appearance...
" by GunvorGunvor GuggisbergGunvor Guggisberg , known professionally simply as Gunvor, is a Swiss singer and dancer. She is from Berne and owes her name to her Swedish grandfather....
. - In 2003Eurovision Song Contest 2003The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the forty-eighth Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Skonto Hall in Riga, Latvia on 24 May 2003. The hosts were Marie N and Renārs Kaupers. Sertab Erener, the Turkish entrant, won the contest with "Everyway That I Can", scoring 167 points. The winning...
, United Kingdom's "Cry BabyCry Baby (Jemini song)"Cry Baby", written and composed by Martin Isherwood, was the United Kingdom's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and was performed by the duo Jemini...
" by JeminiJeminiJemini were a British pop group from Liverpool, best known for scoring "nul points" and finishing in last place with their song "Cry Baby" at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest in Latvia.-Early career:...
. - In the 2004Eurovision Song Contest 2004The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
semi-final, Switzerland's "Celebrate" by Piero & The MusicStars - In the first 2009Eurovision Song Contest 2009The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....
semi-final, Czech Republic's "Aven RomaleAven Romale"Aven Romale" , is a song by the Czech group Gipsy.cz that was the Czech entry at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest held in Moscow, Russia. It failed to reach the Eurovision final...
" by Gypsy.cz.
In his book Nul Points, comic writer Tim Moore
Tim Moore (writer)
Tim Moore is a British travel writer and humorist. He was educated at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith. In addition to his seven published travelogues to date, his writings have appeared in various publications including Esquire, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer and the Evening...
interviews the first twelve of these performers to find out if their Eurovision score was the end of their music career or just the beginning.
Since the creation of a semi-final in 2004 and two semi-finals in 2008, more than thirty countries vote each night - even the countries eliminated or already qualified. Thus occurrences of nul points become rarer; it would require a song to place less than tenth in every country. In the 2004 semi-final
Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...
, Switzerland's "Celebrate" by Piero Esteriore & The MusicStars received nul points, but only 32 countries out of 36 voted, and in the first 2009 semifinal, where only 20 countries voted, Czech Republic's "Aven Romale" by Gypsy.cz received nul points.
Regional block voting
- Cyprus and Greece;
- Turkey and Azerbaijan;
- Ireland and UK;
- Andorra and Spain;
- San Marino and Italy;
- Belgium and the Netherlands;
- Nordic states: Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland;
- Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania;
- Balkan countries:
- A core contingent of former Yugoslavian countries, most notably Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Croatia;
- Former Warsaw PactWarsaw PactThe Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries of Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, and Moldova; - Romania and Moldova, acting as a bridge between the Balkan and Warsaw Pact states;
- Georgia and Lithuania.
Bjørn Erichsen, former director of Eurovision TV, disagrees with the assertion that regional block voting significantly affects the outcome of the contest, arguing that Russia's first victory in 2008 was only possible with votes from thirty-eight of the participating countries.
Previous voting systems
| Year | Voting system |
|---|---|
| 1956 Eurovision Song Contest 1956 The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland on 24 May 1956... |
2 points from each juror, only the winner was announced |
| 1957 Eurovision Song Contest 1957 The Eurovision Song Contest 1957 was the 2nd Eurovision Song Contest. Like the first contest, this one was still mainly a radio programme, but there was a noticeable increase in the number of people with televisions.... , 1958 Eurovision Song Contest 1958 The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third Eurovision Song Contest. The convention that the winning country from a year hosted the following year's contest was introduced in this year. France's win was their first. It was the last time to date that the United Kingdom did not enter the contest... , 1958 Eurovision Song Contest 1958 The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third Eurovision Song Contest. The convention that the winning country from a year hosted the following year's contest was introduced in this year. France's win was their first. It was the last time to date that the United Kingdom did not enter the contest... , 1960 Eurovision Song Contest 1960 The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth in the series, and was held on 29 March 1960 in London. France's win this year was their second in the contest.... , 1961 Eurovision Song Contest 1961 The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the sixth Eurovision Song Contest. A total of sixteen countries took part in the Contest, including the three debuting countries: Finland, Spain, and Yugoslavia. It was held on 18 March 1961 and was the first to take place on a Saturday night, a tradition that... |
1 point from each juror, ten jurors per country |
| 1962 Eurovision Song Contest 1962 The Eurovision Song Contest 1962 was the seventh in the series. France's win was their third and marked the first time a country had won three contests. Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, and Spain all scored "null points" for the first time.... |
3, 2, and 1 points for each country's 1st, 2nd and 3rd favourite |
| 1963 Eurovision Song Contest 1963 The Eurovision Song Contest 1963 was the 8th Eurovision Song Contest. France had won the contest in 1962 but were incapable of hosting in 1963, as was their right, due to financial shortcomings. As was the case in 1960 - and as would become a tradition when smaller broadcasters could not afford to... |
5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points for each country's 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th favourite |
| 1964 Eurovision Song Contest 1964 The Eurovision Song Contest 1964 was the ninth Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark after the Danish victory the previous year. Sweden did not participate because of a boycott by singers. They did however broadcast it... , 1965 Eurovision Song Contest 1965 The Eurovision Song Contest 1965 was the 10th in the series. Luxembourg's win was their second. Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Spain each scored "null points" for the second time. The 1965 contest marked the debut of Ireland, a country which later went on to dominate the competition. This was also... , 1966 Eurovision Song Contest 1966 The Eurovision Song Contest 1966 was the 11th edition and was held on 5 March 1966 in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. The rule stating that a country could only sing in any of its national languages was originally created in this year. This was possibly created due to the 1965 Swedish entry, "Absent... |
5, 3, and 1 points for each country's 1st, 2nd and 3rd favourite |
| 1967 Eurovision Song Contest 1967 The Eurovision Song Contest 1967 was the twelfth Eurovision Song Contest. The presenter became confused whilst the voting was taking place, and declared the United Kingdom's entry to be the winner before the last country, Ireland, had announced its votes... , 1968 Eurovision Song Contest 1968 The Eurovision Song Contest 1968 was the 13th Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was won by the Spanish song "La, la, la", performed by Massiel.... , 1969 Eurovision Song Contest 1969 The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th in the series. It was the first time that the contest resulted in a tie for first place, with four countries each gaining 18 votes. Since there was at the time no rule to cover such an eventuality, all four countries were declared joint winners... |
1 point from each juror, ten jurors per country |
| 1970 Eurovision Song Contest 1970 The Eurovision Song Contest 1970 was the 15th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 21 March 1970 at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Amsterdam contest is regarded as one of the most significant in Eurovision history for a number of reasons.... |
1 point from each juror, ten jurors per country, tie-breaker round |
| 1971 Eurovision Song Contest 1971 The Eurovision Song Contest 1971 was the sixteenth Eurovision Song Contest and the first held in Dublin, Ireland. The new voting system that was introduced in this Eurovision did have one big problem: some juries gave fewer points out than others... , 1972 Eurovision Song Contest 1972 The Eurovision Song Contest 1972 was the 17th edition series. Monaco was unable to host this year's Eurovision as they were unable to provide the resources. They approached French TV, who agreed to produce the contest, but only if the contest was staged in France and not the planned Monte Carlo... , 1973 Eurovision Song Contest 1973 The Eurovision Song Contest 1973 was the eighteenth Eurovision Song Contest and was held in Luxembourg. The language rule forcing countries to enter songs sung in any of their national languages was dropped, so performers from some countries sang in English.... |
1 to 5 points for each song from each juror, two jurors per country |
| 1974 Eurovision Song Contest 1974 The Eurovision Song Contest 1974 was the 19th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of the United Kingdom... |
1 point from each juror, ten jurors per country, tie-breaker round |
| 1975 Eurovision Song Contest 1975 The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the contest hosted by SR and held in Stockholm, Sweden. The arena for the event was the newly built Stockholm International Fairs in Älvsjö in southern Stockholm. ABBA's victory in Brighton the previous year gave Sweden the right to host the... - today |
12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 points for each ten country's favourites |
The most-used voting system other than the current one was that used for the 1969 contest. This system had been used between 1957 and 1961, and later between 1967 and 1969. Ten jurors in each country each gave a single vote to their favourite song. In 1969 this resulted in four countries tying for first place (UK, Netherlands, France, and Spain), and there was no tie-break procedure. A "second round" voting in the event of a tie was introduced to this system in 1970.
Between 1962 and 1966, a voting system closer to the current system was used. In 1962 each country awarded its top three one, two and three points; in 1963 the top five were awarded one, two, three, four and five points, and from 1964 until 1966, each country awarded its top three one, three and five points. With the latter system, there was an additional rule that each country could choose not to give points to three countries, but award points to two countries (giving one a three and the other a six). In 1965 Belgium awarded the United Kingdom six, and Italy three points. The system also permitted a country to give a single award of 9 points, but it never happened.
The 1971, 1972, and 1973 contests saw the jurors "in vision" for the first time. Each country was represented by two jurors - one older than 25 and one younger, with at least ten years' difference in their ages. Each juror gave a minimum of one point and a maximum of five points for each song. In 1974 the previous system of ten jurors was used, and the following year the current system was introduced. Spokespeople were next seen on screen in 1994 by satellite link up to the venue.
With the introduction of two semi-finals in 2008 a new method of selecting finalists was created. The top nine songs ranked by televote qualified, along with one song selected by the back-up juries. This method in most cases meant that the tenth song in the televote placing failed to qualify, and attracted some criticism, especially from F.Y.R Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, who in both years placed 10th in the televote. In 2010 the system used in the 2009 final, where the winner is selected by a combination of televoting and jury votes, was also used to select the semi-finalists.