Finns pay tribute to ‘real winner’ Käärijä and demand reform of voting system
Disgruntled Finns called for reform of the Eurovision Song Contest after contestant Käärijä lost out to Sweden’s Loreen despite winning the public vote.
“I don’t think that it does the Eurovision good if everyone sees in the live broadcast that the public’s favourite doesn’t win, even though they get an absolutely insane avalanche of votes,” said Finnish pop culture writer Tuomas Lassinharju, predicting “a serious discussion about removing juries and returning to pure public voting.”
A column in Finland’s Helsingin Sanomat newspaper described Käärijä – real name Jere Pöyhönen – as the “real winner” and described Loreen’s winning song as “unnecessarily clinical.”
The writer questioned whether the votes of the jury should be reduced in weight or eliminated entirely.
Watch parties in Finland soured at the announcement of the final results, Finnish media reported. One fan in Vantaa described a “bad atmosphere.” Another complained that “the jury doesn’t understand the show.”
Some Finns shared speculative reports that the winning entry could have been plagiarised. Others complained that Loreen – a former winner of the contest in 2012 – was allowed to compete again.
Grievances extended beyond Finland. Håkon Aleksander Røssum at Eurovision Norway said fans should be on juries. “It is the fans who have been to all the rehearsals and who know everything about the artists,” he said.
William Lee Adams, the American author of Wild Dances: My Queer and Curious Journey to Eurovision, said of the results and subsequent controversy: “This goes back to the idea that people vote with their heart while juries vote with their head… People connected with Käärijä. He is one of us, we can relate to him.”
But he added: “there’s no perfect solution – any voting system has its flaws. I think they could increase the number of people on juries or decrease the power of the juries from 50 to 25 per cent.”
Some conspiracists on social media suggested the vote was rigged in Sweden’s favour to allow the contest to be held in Sweden next year on the 50th anniversary of Abba’s landmark 1974 win with Waterloo.
Despite Finnish disappointment, there was widespread pride in their entrant’s strong performance. President Sauli Niinistö sent a message of congratulations. Käärijä’s home city of Vantaa announced plans to create a mural in his honour.
The singer himself expressed disappointment and apologised to fans, but left the door open for a comeback. “If schedules allow, why not?” he said. “I’ll come back and give what I can.”
