Lloyd Webber wins Putin's Euro vote

Published on Saturday 15 November 2008 18:42

LORD Andrew Lloyd Webber has already been promised at least one vote from an unlikely source in his quest to win the Eurovision Song Contest for the UK.

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin yesterday pledged to vote for the UK entry in next year's contest – even though the song hasn't even been written and the performer has not been chosen. The composer met Putin in Russia yesterday to discuss bringing credibility back to the competition, which will be hosted by Moscow next year.

Putin personally assured Lloyd Webber that he will be picking up the phone to vote for the UK entry. However, despite being one of the most powerful men in global politics, his Eurovision televote will be registered just as any other member of the Russian public – a single vote from a TV viewer.

In recent years the contest has been dogged by accusations of 'bloc-voting', which this year led presenter Terry Wogan to threaten walking out on the competition he first hosted 35 years ago. This year's winning Russian entry, 'Believe' by Dima Bilan, received the maximum 12 points from former Soviet states Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine.

In response, this September Eurovision organisers decided to introduce a new voting model, with a mix between public televoting and jury votes for the 2009 final. But details have not yet been formalised.

Lloyd Webber travelled to Russia to find out why recent UK entries have done so badly. This year, Andy Abraham's song 'Even If' only secured scores from Ireland and San Marino, placing him joint last with Poland and Germany.

Lloyd Webber said: "At least we have got one vote from Mr Putin."