Our Eurovision phone votes not going for a song, survey shows

Not music to Irish ears

What it costs in different countries to phone or text in a vote in Saturday’s Eurovision Song Contest:

Ireland — 60c a time

Belgium — 50c

Czech Republic — 36c

Holland — 35c

Britain and the north — 19c

Denmark — free(Source: European ConsumerCentre, Iceland)

By Paul Kelly ConsumerCorrespondent

THE Danes will get it for free this Saturday night but Irish people are having to pay three times as much as the Brits for the same pleasure.

For voting in the Eurovision Song Contest will cost the Irish public 60c a time to support their favourite acts in Saturday night’s final.

Viewers in the north and Britain will pay two-thirds less at 19c and the lucky Danes will pay nothing to back their preferred performer.

As is tradition with the Eurovision, voters cannot support their home country’s own entrant but can vote instead for any of the 24 other performers representing countries across Europe.

Ireland is hoping to win the Eurovision crown for the sixth time after the public overwhelmingly chose madcap television puppet Dustin the Turkey to represent the country.

But Dustin, whose comedy song Irelande Douze Pointe is a merciless mockery of Eurovision, could be left looking a real turkey if he is hoping for support from nations sympathetic to Ireland’s call.

For voters in countries like near-neighbour Iceland will have to pay 87c a time for the privilege of voting in the cheesy music spectacle.

Viewers in Spain will get what could be Europe’s highest bill — an eye-watering €1.86 per call — if they vote for any of the candidates.

And the Greeks will have to pay as much as €1.19 a time voting for candidates from other countries if they want to ensure their bitterest foes, Turkey, do not win.

More than 100 million people worldwide are expected to tune in to Saturday’s Eurovision final.

The 25 contestants are being whittled down from 43 hopefuls in two semi-finals being staged in Belgrade, Serbia, this week. The first was last night and the other is tomorrow night.

Last year’s contest, which was hosted in Helsinki, Finland, was the ninth most-watched programme of 2007 on Irish television.

At its peak, 20.7% of Ireland’s adults tuned in, giving broadcaster RTÉ an audience of 699,660 men and women who watched Ireland’s disastrous Dervish come bottom with the John Waters song They Can’t Stop the Spring.

Yesterday, the European Consumer Centre’s Iceland office released a survey of voting costs in selected Eurovision nations to raise awareness about the cost of public voting in TV shows.

“But we have no comment about Dustin the Turkey,” said a spokeswoman.

The Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast live from 8pm on Saturday on RTÉ One.