Solution to save ESC
Posted 31/May 2008 at 20:09 by Ana R. Topics: 2008, Belgium, contest, Eurovision, Greece, Portugal, Russia, Spain, UK, voting
I believe it is time to change the ESC, since for the last few years what we have seen is the election of "the best neighbour" and not much attention is paid to the songs, the lyrics or the artist!! So, I was thinking if it wouldn't be a better idea to take the system that is used for the UEFA cup, for instance...at the start there would be 4 different groups, and each group would vote for its best (or two best songs) and later, the winner(s) of each group would meet and compete for the greatest european song...this way, the neighbours would start off together in the same group and would only compete against each other in order to choose their best song...This way we would minimize the bloc voting, we would avoid the direct finalists (why do Germany, France, UK and Spain get direct access to the final???) and we would have a fairer and more exciting contest!!!
I thought about possible groups (considering that with this system, Italy and Austria would give it another try):
Group 1:
Russia
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Bielorus
Ukraine
Moldova
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Turkey
Group 2:
Albania
Bosnia
Croatia
Serbia
Montenegro
Macedonia
Slovenia
Greece
Cyprus
Israel
Group 3:
Hungary
Romania
Czech Republic
Poland
Germany
Austria
Norway
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Iceland
Group 4:
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Switzerland
Italy
San Marino
Malta
Spain
Andorra
Portugal
UK
Ireland
During the groups phase, only the participants of each group should vote for the election of their favourite(s) group song(s)...but the show would be broadcasted throughout all Europe.
For the final phase, with the best songs from each group competing, the voting would be opened to every country participating in ESC.
The televoting could be kept as the voting system for the both phases of the competition (still with the rule that you can't vote for your own country, in the groups phase and for the final, a country can't vote for the winning song(s) of its own group)...This way, when we get to the final, there will be no more geography or political issues involved since you are "obligated" to vote outside your "bloc"...and therefore, the main motivation would be to vote for the song you like the best!!!!
I thought about possible groups (considering that with this system, Italy and Austria would give it another try):
Group 1:
Russia
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Bielorus
Ukraine
Moldova
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Turkey
Group 2:
Albania
Bosnia
Croatia
Serbia
Montenegro
Macedonia
Slovenia
Greece
Cyprus
Israel
Group 3:
Hungary
Romania
Czech Republic
Poland
Germany
Austria
Norway
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Iceland
Group 4:
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Switzerland
Italy
San Marino
Malta
Spain
Andorra
Portugal
UK
Ireland
During the groups phase, only the participants of each group should vote for the election of their favourite(s) group song(s)...but the show would be broadcasted throughout all Europe.
For the final phase, with the best songs from each group competing, the voting would be opened to every country participating in ESC.
The televoting could be kept as the voting system for the both phases of the competition (still with the rule that you can't vote for your own country, in the groups phase and for the final, a country can't vote for the winning song(s) of its own group)...This way, when we get to the final, there will be no more geography or political issues involved since you are "obligated" to vote outside your "bloc"...and therefore, the main motivation would be to vote for the song you like the best!!!!
