Eurovision jury: Beard is no musical trick

Belarus did not give a single point to the winner of Euriovision-2014. However, Belarusians were impressed by the Austrian singer’s performance. According to the telephone vote, he was number 4 in Belarus. But the jury put him at the end of the list – to the 23^rd position. That is why the singer did not even get to the top-10 in Belarus.

“I think that Conchita’s beard was a punch in the stomach,” composer Yauhen Aleinik expressed the general opinion of the Belarusian jury. “It is an illegal hold. I am thinking about sending a disabled person to the next Eurovision to attract attention… It is not a musical trick. The beard distracted attention from the music and the song that were actually pretty good. The struggle could have been more intense but for the beard. I think that it is unfair to win a contest by such means and I will oppose to it although I actually liked the song.”

One more jury member, founder of the dance school SHTAM Alyaksandr Myazhenny has mentioned one more reason not to give many points to the Austrian – a technical one.

“Conchita did nothing on stage. The whole performance was created by incredible technical means behind her,” Alyaksandr said. “However, it means that singers were not in equal conditions and it seems important to me.”

But the jury noticed that Belarusian viewers and the jury gave different points to other singers too. The jury put the singer from San-Marino to the 24^th position while Belarusians – to the 11^th. According to the telephone vote, Azerbaijan was in the 19^th position. The jury put it to the 3^rd place. The jury put Malta to the 2^nd position while Belarusians – to the 24^th. The same discrepancies can be noticed in the number of points given to Sweden, Italy and Slovenia.

“Being the jury, we watched every performance very carefully,” jury member, singer and radio presenter Volha Ryzhykava explained. “People who took part in the telephone vote were probably not that careful. They could go have dinner in the middle of the contest and come back when number 20 was singing and it is normal.”

The jury watched the final a day before the TV broadcast, Volha added. Every singer can perform better or worse on different days.

Alyaksandr Myazhenny refused to comment on the telephone vote results. Everything is clear about the jury, the points are given and the protocols are signed. Viewers can vote for one singer multiple times. That is why the results cannot be impartial.

The Belarusians jury voted for Conchita Wurst as follows:

Vasil Rainchyk: number 24, Yauhen Aleinik – 23, Volha Ryzhykava – 20, Alyaksandr Myazhenny – 23 and Ina Adamovich – 22.