Our legendary Eurovision commentator has quit. A new voting system is in place for the second year running. The final, held on the 16th May 2009, will be the first contest to have the points decided by both the voting public and a panel of music industry experts with a 50/50 split. I think these are all positive steps towards moving away from the baised political voting patterns seen in the past. It seems a shame that the system seen in the final will not be used in the two semi-finals preceeding the final on the 12th and 14th May. Here are my hot picks based on merit and not what countries Gordon Brown tells me to like or hate.

Azerbaijan

Belgium

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Denmark

Finland

Lithuania
 

Ukraine

United Kingdom

I think our entry (United Kingdom) sums up what we think should happen this year although there are a lot of decent songs this year. I just hope they get through to the final and aren’t penalised through politically charged voting. As I’ve always said, it’s a song contest. Not a stage for countries to scratch each others backs. See you on May 16th!