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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Delaney

Eurovision Song Contest issue lengthy statement after calls to introduce ban

Eurovision Song Contest organisers issued a lengthy statement in the early hours of Sunday morning, regarding the issue that led to calls to introduce a ban on national juries and scrap the jury vote altogether.

Shortly after Ukraine's act Kalush Orchestra won this year's contest, Eurovision bosses admitted "certain irregular voting patterns" had been spotted in the results of six countries.

Votes from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and San Marino were all replaced by aggregate scores , after irregular voting patterns were noticed on the night.

Acknowledging the controversary, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) issued a full statement.

"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," the EBU began in their address.

Sam Ryder came runner up at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest last night, making the whole country proud (Getty)

"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."

Ukraine's act had been long-time favourites to win the annual event (Getty Images)

Some watching at home had called for the vote to be rejigged on Saturday night, with one Twitter user tweeting: "SCRAP THE “PROFESSIONAL” JURIES!"

The drama follows the UK's 2022 contestant Sam Ryder winning the evening's Jury Vote with 283 points - the highest jury score since 2017.

The TikTok sensation came in second place with his bop Space Man, marking the first time in 20 years that the UK has ended the night in the top three.

"There is so much gratitude, what an experience," Sam gushed after learning he had beat favourites Spain and Sweden in the jury vote.

Sam made history with his performance on stage in Italy (Getty Images)

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.

Even Prime Minister Boris Johnson couldn't resist taking to social media to praise Sam in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"Congratulations to Ukraine for winning the @Eurovision Song Contest 2022," the Conservative Party leader began in his posy-Eurovision message on Twitter.

"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."

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