Eurovision... another year of bloc voting.

Surprise surprise, Russia won the Eurovision Song Contest.

Since the Eastern European countries were invited to participate in The Eurovision Song Contest eight years ago, not one country in western Europe has won or even come close. This year the United Kingdom came last again. No-one, not even the BBC would admit it until now, but bloc voting is the way it goes. Eastern European countries flagrantly vote only for each other, regardless of what the entries look or sound like, and because there are so many of them the larger industrialised members in the west don't stand a chance. This is no longer a song contest.

The results of last night's competition reveal that nations east of the Adriatic Sea occupied the top 15 places in the competition. It is an example of the way things work on this side of the continent. Eastern European neighbourly back-scratching has turned this 'contest' into a mockery and it's a shame. In the ex-eastern bloc corruption is still rife and on all levels. There is no sense of fairness. You can see this even here in this once funny camp kitschfest, Eurovision was always light fluffy fun to us, but now it has become humiliating. Terry Wogan who has compered the contest since 1980 says he may not return next year as there is just no point in the UK (or any of the original participants) taking part.

What really pisses me off is that France, Germany, Spain and the UK all bear the brunt of the cost of Eurovision. The 'big four' all limped in last yet again last night. If Eastern Europe wants to let politics takeover the contest then lets pull out and let them pay for it and get on with it!