Did anyone miss the countries boycotting Eurovision?

[mids2019]

Watched Eurovision with the family. Camp silly escapism fun and a dreadful UK entry.. The question is did anyone miss the countries that boycotted the competition (I can't even recall any of them)? 160 million viewers certainly weren't that upset.

The Guardian is trying to portray the competition as embroiled in controversy and it will never be the same again but in reality nothing has changed. Well done Bulgaria by the way.....

Why do you think they were cheating. I know lots of people who voted for them.

I know they were accused of it last year.

Because of the public vote.

I didn’t realise other countries had boycotted until Graham had said plus there were some countries I hadn’t heard of this time around.

I thought Israel had a good song but expected Australia to win.

They were accused of cheating last year because they used paid advertising (which every country was able to use but not all did to the same extent).

It was also felt that Israel benefitted disproportionately from the public being able to have 20 votes, so some pro Israel people could have used all 20 on Israel.

Neither thing is exactly cheating but it was potentially unfair. The organisers acknowledged the rules may have given Israel an unfair advantage so changed them for 2026.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I thought France was good, but they didn’t do very well either.

@JadeHare I liked France too and the Ya Ya rock song.

Defo didn’t expect Bulgarias song to win!

That’s what I like about Eurovision though, it’s so bloody random!

Can’t remember all of the songs. Needed wine to see it through.

I missed them. My brother lives in Spain and we usually throw each other a vote. Plus I adored Nebulossa and discovered a whole new album that year. I like Holland, still feel a bit for Joost Klein, never did have charges brought and still unsure as to what went down (ND and cameras in face not great). Iceland and Ireland are usually good craic and I have liked some of Slovenia's in other years. So yes, they were missed by me.
And I still question why one rule for Russia and another for Israel. I do not blame "Israel" for IDF so why should I blame "Russia" for Putin? Both should be in it if the competition is based on music and peace only and truly apolitical.

I used to love the hilarious escapism from real life where the only politics were Greece and Cyprus giving each other full marks.

Great fun!

I still liked it this year, but everything's a little tainted these days and takes more effort to enjoy.

Ukraine's entry was not as strong as previous. The two girls' duet with blue/yellow staging the other year was fab and their winning entry when Sam came second (I do think the song was good but absolutely some were voting in solidarity or Sam would have taken it).
So the cynical side of me says Israel coming second two years in a row via the public vote is a mass of galvanised voters rallying against antisemitism/being Jewish allies.
Why not the same for Ukraine? Colour me cynical but I'd guess after so many years, compassion fatigue sets in. Sad but true. Had Russia been competing, you might have had a swathe of votes going Ukraine's way. Israel's votes are either from some Jewish people feeling maligned for things they themselves are not responsible for or for allies who feel the boycotts and the treatment of the singer are unfair antisemitic judgements. It's not rocket science.

On top of those who liked the actual s ok Ng of course. But you often see alliances globally from diaspora and of course, from neighbouring countries. The latter has not changed much hence Greece/Cyprus, Scandis etc

I “missed” them - in terms of wishing I could have compared entries to previous years. But when I tested myself I could only think of Spain, Ireland, Netherlands and Iceland as having opted out. I do however respect their motives for not attending.

It was a brilliant show. I’m cross about the way that voting was clearly favorable to one specific country -however since listening to all the entries last weekend, Bulgaria was my clear favorite.

The EBU do need to make even more rules.

We were watching that play out last night!

Difficult to miss what you couldn't see.. No I didn't watch it.

Likewise.

I agree. It is never about the songs is it.

It is somewhat about the songs, and somewhat about other things, like any competition with a public vote (eg sympathy for the underdog in Strictly or whatever)

He/she has always had a penchant for the “discuss” kind of post, on many a topic.

I noticed the absence of Ireland as they usually do quite well, and also Iceland, as their entries can be a bit off the wall. Wasn't really properly watching the whole thing though, it was just on in the background.

@SheilaFentiman Posters can post in a way that suits them! There’s no blueprint. I often find the op has interesting questions.

its about time the bbc (or Uk?) stopped paying into Eurovision. Only 4 countries do so we should stop too. And we have Australia? Why? Plus decent acts here won’t go near it - for obvious reasons. It’s wailing ballads (Adele?) or europop - not a uk thing. So we mostly try unknown rubbish. We just should stop paying and go via the semi finals like nearly everyone else! It’s a sham and a joke.