Well, I got home yesterday, just in time to watch most of the voting in Eurovision and had quite the shock....

http://www.youtube.com/results?sourc...oed+eurovision

I could NOT believe my ears, when the audience in Copenhagen booed every time a country voted for Russia or Belarus!

I didn't hear either song, so I can't say if they were good, but I fairly am sure it was not the songs that were being booed.

It happened several times. I am not aware that any country has been deliberately booed before, and I've watched this darn thing at least 20 times.

And obviously, the bearded lady from Austria: Media in some countries run stories saying that Russia and Belarus tried to stop this transsexual from being in the final. I have no idea whether it's true or not. Definitely a futile struggle, they should not have bothered, if they did. "LGBT" is the chicest thing you can be at the moment, and anyone who says anything about it will have their character assasinated in media.

Probably the booing was not even related to supposed discrimination of this transsexual though, but Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, where they've been told that Russia is an evil villain.

Also the commentators made some rather snarky comments on the feed I listened to, which they would not have made against any other country, I'm pretty sure.
Googled and voila, yes - others noticed, several papers wrote about it.

Apparently there was booing in the semi-finals too, even more - I didn't watch that.

I wonder how much of the Eurovision budget Russia pays - guessing it's quite a fair chunk, the big countries pay the most. Maybe Russia should just pull out and take its money with it. It's just humiliating for the artists and the country. Or do you go on, in a situation like that to not give in to bullying? I don't know but I have NEVER seen a country get booed in Eurovision.

It was before my time, but several fascist dictatatorships used to particpate: Spain, Greece and Portugal back in the days. I doubt anyone booed them. During the Cold War era a few Eastern countries participated on and off and I vaguely recall it. No booing then either. Media did not stir people up with agitation like they practically do today.