Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest have responded after it emerged a number of votes had to be scrapped due to "irregularities". Some votes in the competition had to be replaced with a different system.
After irregular voting patterns were noticed on the night, votes from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and San Marino were all replaced by aggregate scores. Ukraine beat the UK when it came down to the public vote but Sam Ryder came second overall, Wales Online reports.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a full statement that said: "In the analysis of jury voting by the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) pan-European voting partner after the Second Dress Rehearsal of the Second Semi-Final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, certain irregular voting patterns were identified in the results of six countries.
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"In order to comply with the Contest’s Voting Instructions, the EBU worked with its voting partner to calculate a substitute aggregated result for each country concerned for both the Second-Semi Final and the Grand Final (calculated based on the results of other countries with similar voting records). This process was acknowledged by the Independent Voting Monitor."
They added: "The EBU takes any suspected attempts to manipulate the voting at the Eurovision Song Contest extremely seriously and has the right to remove such votes in accordance with the Official Voting Instructions, irrespective of whether or not such votes are likely to influence the results and/or outcome of the voting."
The UK's 2022 contestant Sam Ryder won the evening's Jury Vote with 283 points - the highest jury score since 2017. The singer-songwriter from Essex has inspired a nation since his almost-triumphant performance on Saturday night - with many famous faces rushing to congratulate the Eurovision runner-up.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Congratulations to Ukraine for winning the @Eurovision Song Contest 2022. It is a clear reflection of not just your talent, but of the unwavering support for your fight for freedom. Incredibly proud of @SamRyderMusic and how he brilliantly represented the UK tonight."
