Exasperated Terry Wogan may quit Eurovision after blatant bloc voting

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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It had all the usual ingredients. . . cheesy songs, strange costumes, waspish comments from Terry Wogan  -  and tactical voting.


Russian heartthrob Dima Bilan became the 2008 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest after many Eastern European countries awarded him the maximum 12 points, while Ukraine came second.

Saturday night's blatant bloc voting so upset presenter Wogan that he is wondering whether to quit the contest for good.

He had been rooting for Britain's entrant, former binman Andy Abraham, whose song Even If finished joint last with 14 points. Only San Marino and Ireland voted for him.

Terry Wogan: 'Eurovision is no longer a music contest

Dissapointing: UK entrant Andy Abrahams came in last place

A clearly exasperated Wogan, who has been commentating on the contest every year since 1973, said: 'I have to decide whether I want to do this again.

'Western European participants have to decide whether they want to take part from here on in, because their prospects are poor.'

Wogan spoke out as Russia's entry Believe received the maximum 12 points from former Soviet states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and Armenia, as well as Israel.

Eastern European votes also helped gain second place for Ukraine's Ani Lorak, dressed in a shiny Las Vegas showgirl outfit to perform an energetic disco-fuelled dance track.

Wogan said that Abraham, 43, who found fame on the TV talent show The X Factor, deserved more votes from other countries.

'It's a disappointment, considering that Andy Abraham gave, I think, the performance of his life with a song that certainly deserved more marks than it got,' he said.

'What a blinding performance he gave for the UK.' Bookmakers had already predicted Abraham's fate, however, making its chances of winning 66-1. 'I'm afraid nobody loves the UK,' added Wogan sadly. 'It just isn't funny any more.'

Heart throb: Russia's Dima Bilan scored a massive 272 points to win this year's Eurovision title

The UK has finished in the top ten only once in the last ten years, and has finished outside the top 20 four times in that period.

Referring to certain other songs in the competition, the TV and radio host added: 'You have to say that this is no longer a music contest.'

The last UK winner was Katrina and the Waves who triumphed in 1997 with Love Shine A Light. Last week the Daily Mail published research which analysed Eurovision voting patterns and suggested that the same countries can be relied on to vote for each other every year for geographical and political reasons.

Close finish: Ukraine's Ani Lorak (left) and Greece's Kalomira (right) came in at second and third place respectively

The former Soviet satellite states, for example, have been dubbed the Warsaw Pact.

There is also the Balkan Bloc and, in Scandinavia, the Viking Empire. Holland and Belgium tend to vote for each other as members of the Partial Benelux, while the Pyrenean Axis is made up of Spain and Andorra.

Britain has only one ally  -  Ireland  -  in what has been dubbed the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Saturday night's contest, held in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, attracted an estimated TV audience of 150million across Europe, including 9.3million in the UK.

The strangest entry was from Bosnia-Herzegovina, described by Wogan as 'the four brides of Frankenstein and a loony with a clothes line'.

Observers noted that several other contestants appeared to have entered a Mariah Carey lookalike contest

Wogan, who earns a reported £150,000 a time for his Eurovision stints, has often got into trouble for his acerbic comments about other countries and their commentators.

Last year's political voting was so blatant that he described it as 'ridiculous'.

'Ridiculous': Terry Wogan was unimpressed with Bosnia and Herzegovina's entrants Laka, who landed in 10th place

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