United Kingdom's Eurovision excuses.

Since you've mentioned this on your debate about the juries:
Same countries complain this year as well:
United Kingdom (Why are the Brits always complaining about the result?),

Every year, the public of the United Kingdom ALWAYS come up the same old excuses over and over again when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest. So I have listed the most common excuses used by the British press and public when the United Kingdom does badly, as well as the actual reality from that excuse.

Excuse: “Europe hates us.”
Reality: The most overused excuse from the United Kingdom. If the U.K. can’t be bothered to put any serious effort into their entries, then DON’T expect the rest of Europe to hand over the Eurovision title to the U.K. And if the public continues to behave like a bunch of 2 year olds, then DON’T expect the rest of Europe treat the U.K. like the Queen. Start putting some serious effort in, respect the entries other countries have sent in and maybe the U.K. will get the respect they wanted.

Excuse: “It’s all political.”
Reality: If the Eurovision Song Contest was all political, then how did Norway’s Alexander Rybak (2009), Germany’s Lena Meyer-Landrut (2010) and Sweden’s Loreen (2012) ALL managed to win the Eurovision Song Contest? All three have represented a Western European country so it is becoming LESS political. These three winners had a song that is capable of attracting votes from both Western and Eastern Europe. And the BEST song won at the end, simple as that.

Excuse: “They just vote for their neighbours.”
Reality: The main reason the Eurovision Song Contest has this “neighbourly” issue is all down to the cultural aspect of the featuring countries; they simply have similar cultures and taste in music. Another big issue which also affects cultural voting is immigration and expats in other countries. Why did the United Kingdom give 10 points to Ireland and 12 points last year? Is it actually to do with the music itself or is it because Jedward are the only singers the United Kingdom know inside out and off by heart?

Excuse: “We’ll never win.”
Reality: This is simply an act of pure laziness from the United Kingdom. By the time next year’s contest starts in Sweden, the United Kingdom have equalled their longest winless streak of 16 years, which started with Buck Fizz in 1981 right up to Katrina and the Waves in 1997. A 16 year Eurovision wait is nothing compared to waiting for 76 YEARS for the United Kingdom to win Wimbledon. England might as well not bother with the World Cup either. By the time it reaches Brazil in 2014, it’ll be 48 YEARS since England won the World Cup.

Excuse: “Even if we sent (Insert name of famous singer or group), we’ll never win.”
Reality: Did the United Kingdom actually send him/her/them to the Eurovision Song Contest? NO! If possible, why doesn’t the U.K. actually do it and see what happens then.

Excuse: “Why bother?”
Reality: Again, this excuse simply shows pure laziness from the United Kingdom. The England football team might as not bother with all major tournaments as they’ve struggled to win one and the BBC might as well pull the plug on Wimbledon since Andy Murray couldn’t reach the Men’s final.

Excuse: “It’s a waste of money.”
Reality: Compared to the BBC spending £20-25 million on The Voice UK, which eventually ended becoming a ratings disaster, the Eurovision Song Contest is in fact CHEAPER to broadcast compared to The Voice UK.

Excuse: “It’s a waste of time.”
Reality: Probably the most ridiculous excuse of all from the public of the United Kingdom. The Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest only lasts for 3-4 hours and takes place just ONCE a year on a Saturday night. This is nothing compared to most major sporting events, which usually lasts for several WEEKS. If you want more Eurovision fun, both Semi-finals are also taking place on the same week of the Grand Final, with the First Semi-final on Tuesday night and the Second Semi-final on Thursday night.

Excuse: “We should just quit.”
Reality: Quitting the Eurovision Song Contest virtually makes NO difference at all. The BBC could in fact, still broadcast the entire contest but without the United Kingdom actually being involved. This is nothing new as it’s already been done in Australia. As the Eurovision Song Contest is getting massively popular with the Aussies, even Eurovision.tv reads out the Australian voting results, which obviously does not count towards the actual results itself.

Excuse: “Only watch it for the laughs.”
Reality: If you hear this excuse, it’s most likely that the person will watch the Eurovision Song Contest simply for the “joke” entries and not about the actual music itself. It’ll be the equivalent of turning up to Wimbledon not because of the tennis, but simply for the strawberries and cream and ogling Maria Sharapova.

Excuse: “Only watch the voting.”
Reality: It is IMPOSSIBLE to judge on which country has the best song if the person haven’t watched ALL 26 performances from the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final.

Excuse: “Used to watch it when Wogan was commentating.”
Reality: Today, the Eurovision Song Contest commentator for the Grand Final is Graham Norton. Before he took, Sir Terry Wogan was the commentator for the Grand Final and he retired from his Eurovision duties in 2008. However, when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest, his style of commentating usually involves bashing other countries in a rather tasteless way. His most famous incident was in 2001, which took place in Copenhagen after Denmark won the year before; Wogan mocked the Danish presenters and ended up on the receiving end of a mass Danish backlash. An article from The Telegraph perfectly sums up his negative Eurovision attitiude: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/1944611/Terry-Wogan-is-a-problem-says-Eurovision-chief-Bjorn-Erichsen.html#