Eurovision 2018: Australia’s SBS and EBU respond to Balkanika

After the end of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Balkanika, who represented Serbia (19th with 113 points), complained  about juries’  credibility over the votes. Australian Public Television, SBS, and EBU have been quick to respond to this complaint.

First of all, we remind  you what a member of Balkanika said about :

 “I saw that some of the so-called” serious “countries exchanged points. There was an intermediary who visited the hotel delegations and arranged the exchange of votes in the jury rankings. They say to each other, we will give you these points and you will give us that. I was an eyewitness when someone approached the Australian delegation  and offered them an exchange of votes. I also saw later during the scoring that some countries did not receive the votes they had earlier agreed ».

SBS’s response was secured by oikotimes.com, which contacted Katie Morgan, head of public relations. Specifically, she stated:

“I can confirm that these allegations are totally unfounded and untrue. I can also reiterate all that EBU has confirmed and clarify that the Australian jury is being checked here by a notary. The article’s suggestion that SBS is hiding something is inaccurate and incorrect. The reason why no more information is published is because the story is just full of rubbish and there is no more information to give “.
EBU also responded to Blakanika complaint :

“EBU, as well as an external auditor, strictly examines all submissions from committee members in close consultation with broadcasters. All members sign an agreement with EBU before joining, confirming that they will remain impartial and will vote strictly for appearances in the shows they will decide. There is also a procedure where random inspections take place in certain jury locations during the voting every year. Our external partners also help us to confirm the safety of televoting ».