Eurovision Snags 400k Viewers As Everyone Feels Robbed

Another Eurovision has come and gone leaving the population with that feeling of being cheated right at the last second. Or maybe that’s just us.

In case you missed it, Australia’s incredible entry in the sequinned-filled, epileptic inducing singing contest saw Aussie singer Dami Im pipped at the post by Ukraine.

Some 400 thousand people tuned in to watch the replay of the performances on SBS Sunday evening. Due to the time difference, the contest had actually been broadcast at 5am that morning for all the die-hard fans.

The numbers are down from years prior, according to OzTam’s preliminary ratings. Last year saw an audience viewership of 592,000 for the finals, and the year before that was at 476,000 viewers.

Im was well in the running to win after the juries voted, but the public vote saw Ukraine surge ahead to snag the coveted title.

And Australia and Russia seem rather pissed off. At least, that’s according to News Corp and Fairfax.

Russia appears to be fuming over Ukraine’s win. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting the country feels cheated out of a win due to political bias.

Too, news.com.au has a story describing how Australia’s Im was “robbed” of a win, due to Eurovision’s new 50/50 voting system, where half the votes are from the juries and half are from the public and are delivered separately. And it seems the new system has many scratching their heads on how it works.

Still, while many in the Aussie social media sphere are enraged that we didn’t win, SMH reckons Im’s second standing is still a victory as she had to fight through the semi-final rounds like everyone else.

“Whether we return next year remains an unanswered question,” writes Fairfax reporter Michael Idato.

“Last year we got a wild card. This year we were personally invited by the host city, Sweden.

“Next year? It’s difficult to say, but with a score of 511 to our name, it would be a shame to deny Australia a shot at the crown.”

When it comes to Twitter, there were more than seven million tweets around the world on the Swedish evening it was broadcast, the platform says in a blog post.

And the moment Ukraine was declared the winner some 72,915 tweets came through thick and fast every minute.

Some of the most popular tweets of the night were:

just tried to explain #Eurovision to an american truck driver and he said ‘that sounds kinda queer and terrible’ yes yes it is #ComeTogether
— Dan Howell (@danisnotonfire) May 14, 2016

My husband just told me he voted for Poland while I was making tea. A reminder that you never *really* know another human being. #Eurovision
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 14, 2016

I LOVE EUROVISION pic.twitter.com/ikCyxWzsz2
— lu (@puppyheda) May 14, 2016

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