Being a Big 5 can have some advantages because it has direct entry to the final but the disadvantages can be many. Let's do an analysis since Italy joined the exclusive group in 2011.

What are the Big 5?

The "Big Five" (formerly "Big Four") are the group of countries who make the biggest financial contributions to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). If you think about football and that Eurovision is not only this contest, you may understand it better. The group is formed by the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy. The Big 5 members have guaranteed their place in the final every year.

The song is only heard once (negative thing)

Due to already being in the final, the song is only heard once, unlike those who are lucky to be one of the top ten in each semifinal. Once in the final, the song becomes a surprise unlike the others that have been heard before. If it is true that songs are made available and whoever a snippet is presented in the final, it is also true that the viewers who are not eurofan will not pay close attention. It should be noted that the only time a Big 5 won was in 2010 when Germany won. One year after, Italy placed 2nd.

Top 10 places (seems to be a positive thing)

Since 2011, the year in which the current Big 5 all participate, there is always at least one member of this group to finish in the Top 10. 2012 was the best year with Italy, Spain and Germany in the Top 10. If to this privileged group we join the Host , it was in 2012 that Azerbaijan also got the 4th place. And if we consider the Top 5, in 5 of last years, there was at least one country to finish in the top five.

Below 20 (negative thing)

If the number of times a Big 5 ends up in the Top 10 does not seem to be very bad, finishing in the last 6 seems to be more frequent! Every year since 2012, there are 2 of the Big 5 plus the Host, who end up in the last positions. In 2015, except for Italy were even all of them! If we climb a little on the table, and look at who was out of the Top 20, except for Italy and Host, everyone was 4 times below the top 20. Spain was even 6 times out of the top 20. In fact, 46% of the wonder group results are below the Top 20.

The last place (negative thing)

If sometime you attend a quiz about Eurovision and they ask you which country was in the last place, you will have a serious chance of getting it right if ... - well, forget about Norway, that was before 2011 - after that date, say the name of a Big 5 or the Host, because since 2014, one of them has always been the last place! Both Germany and the Host have already repeated this feat!

Average rating (negative thing)

Except for Italy which is the best of the Big 5, all have an average of very poorly obtained results. The worst is even Spain, which despite twice having qualified in 10th place, has an average finish of 20th. By the calculations, Germany finishes in 17th, France in 18th and the UK almost in 20th.

Conclusions ( or maybe not)

But then what are the benefits of being in this reference group? In fact, given the results, we did not find any.

Would these countries invest more in their participation if they went through the semifinals? Perhaps!

Is Italy really an exception, a case study or a coincidence?

Of course we would have to analyze the type of songs from these countries, their neighbours, their little diaspora, the success of Eurovision in their countries, but as a matter of fact, and for the fans of those countries, perhaps it would be interesting to go through the experience of watching their countries battle themselves in the semifinals for a ticket to the grand final.

Last week, we announced the final results in our poll and the Top 5 had Italy in the number 1, followed by Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Cyprus.

We wanted to go a bit further and decided to separate the results by country (not by users as we did, but gathering all the users from one country) and giving the typical 1 to 12 points. 

The results were a bit different and finally Netherlands won! But the more interesting thing is that the results are very similar to what the current odds reveal. Considering this will happen next May the battle will be between Russia and The Netherlands. These are the final results:

If you want to know more details about each country votings, ask us through eurovisionontop@gmail.com 

• 1 Netherlands 228
• 2 Russia 164
• 3 Switzerland 138
• 4 Italy 132
• 5 Cyprus 132
• 6 Sweden 119
• 7 Iceland 107
• 8 Belgium 75
• 9 Greece 69
• 10 Norway 64
• 11 Portugal 63
• 12 North Macedonia 61
• 13 Azerbaijan 60
• 14 Austria 59
• 15 Czech Republic 58
• 16 Malta 58
• 17 Spain 58
• 18 France 55
• 19 Denmark 53
• 20 Slovenia 52
• 21 Croatia 50
• 22 Hungary 50
• 23 Serbia 49
• 24 Australia 47
• 25 Albania 46
• 26 Estonia 46
• 27 Armenia 45
• 28 Romania 38
• 29 Israel 35
• 30 Belarus 22
• 31 Lithuania 22
• 32 United Kingdom 20
• 33 Georgia 19
• 34 Finland 18
• 35 San Marino 15
• 36 Poland 13
• 37 Germany 12
• 38 Latvia 10
• 39 Montenegro 10
• 40 Moldova 6
• 41 Ireland 0

The Eurovision winner of 2017, Salvador Sobral, did his first German concert in Essen, two days ago.

We were there to see him present his new album "Paris Lisboa" with a crowd of about 500 persons mostly from Germany. With a new heart but full of the same love for life, Salvador, enchanted the audience, along with his three musicians, such as the critics:

The Portuguese ESC winner "is not only wonderfully funny, but great as a singer. As in a poem by Fernando Pessoa set by his pianist Júlio Resende. Or a haunting song about infidelity. These and other pieces of music get under your skin with their intensity and their feeling. By the way, Salvador Sobral announces his big hit standing on a chair with flippant slogans. Since he has the mischief back on the neck. Just like at the end of two hours passing by. Sitting alone on stage at the piano, he sings, surprisingly, "No pig calls me" by Max Raabe." (Christoph Giese, WAZ)

The Tour continues in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin, Nuremberg and Sttutgart.

The new album peaked the number 11 in Spain and the number 1 in Portugal.

(Special thank to Pedro Almeida)

40 years after Grease, the memoir "Do not Stop Believin ' ", released this month, brings together the life and work of the singer and actress, from the odyssey with Travolta to her fight against Cancer, and of course Eurovision, in her own words. 

As described by the publisher, "with candor, humor, and warmth, legendary musician, actress, activist, and icon Olivia Newton-John reveals her life story--from her unforgettable rise to fame in the classic musical Grease to her passionate advocacy for health and wellness in light of her battles with cancer. Perfect for fans of Tina Turner's My Love Story and Sally Field's In Pieces, this international bestseller is an extraordinary can't-miss memoir.

For more than five decades, Olivia Newton-John has been one of our most successful and adored entertainers. A four-time Grammy Award winner, she is one of the world's bestselling recording artists of all time, with more than 100 million albums sold. Her starring roles in the iconic movies Grease and Xanadu catapulted her into super-stardom. Her appeal as a performer is timeless.

In addition to her music and screen successes, Olivia is perhaps best known for her strength, courage, and grace. After her own personal journeys with cancer, she has thrived and become an inspiration for millions around the world. A tireless advocate for countless charities, her true passion is as the founding champion of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Olivia has always radiated joy, hope, and compassion--determined to be a force for good in the world."

Buy it now here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Stop-Believin-Olivia-Newton-John/dp/1982122242/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=olivia+newton+john&qid=1554226701&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Today is the brightest night of Hollywood in a parade of stars where the best films of the year are awarded! The Oscars are there! But wait! What does this have to do with Eurovision? Anything... or maybe something! This is the right time to find Eurovision songs in several films. Certainly you are expecting to find in this disorderly list the movie Mamma Mia 2 or to find "Volare". We could also include the israeli film Cupcakes about Eurovision... But we wanted to try to surprise you a little more! This is our Top 10 movies where you can find Eurovision Songs and... some of them were also Oscars nominees!

1

• Snowman (2017)
• ESC song: Congratulations (Cliff Richard, 1968) performed by Gitte Haenning

2

• The Martian (2015) - Oscars - 7 nominations
• ESC song: Waterloo (ABBA, 1974)

3

• SPY (2015)
• ESC song: Dancing Lasha Tumbai (Verka Serduchka, 2007) 

4

• Wild Tales (2014) - Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film 
• ESC song: Hallelujah (Gali Atari & Milk and Honey, 1979)

5

• The beautiful person (2008)
• ESC song: Elle était si jolie (Alain Barriere, 1963)

6

• Au cul du loup (2011)
• ESC song: Love Power (The KMG's, 2007)

7

• Sicko (2007) - Oscar nominee Best Documentary
• ESC song: L´amour est bleu (Vicky Leandros, 1967)

8

• The Thing (2011)
• ESC song: Samidd aednan (Sverr Kjelsberg & Mattis Haeta, 1980) 

9

• Grbavica - The land of my dreams (2006)
• ESC song: Zovi (Femminem, 2005) 

10

• EX (2009)
• ESC song: Fiumi di parole (Jalisse, 1997)