Researchers have predicted how well eight countries will do in the Eurovision Song Contest based on the physiological responses of 60 volunteers while they watched the performances
By Jason Arunn Murugesu
12 May 2023
Pasha Parfeni of Moldova performs during the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest on 9 May
Martin Meissner/Associated Press/Alamy
Moldova will be one of the most popular countries in the public vote of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, according to researchers who analysed people’s physiological responses to eight of the performances.
Daniel Richardson at University College London and his colleagues asked 60 Eurovision fans living in London, with an average age of 31, to watch the entries from Moldova, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, the Czech Republic and Spain.
The researchers chose these nations as Spain, Germany and Italy are guaranteed to be in the finals due to Eurovision rules, while the others were given good odds of making it into the final by bookmakers. The UK and Ukraine weren’t included in the study because of the likelihood that participants could be swayed by factors other than the performance, like patriotic bias or sympathy due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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We now know that all eight nations have made it to the final, which takes place on 13 May in Liverpool, UK.
The team monitored the heart rate and skin conductance levels of the participants as they watched the performances. This was then used to make predictions about how well each of these countries will do in the public vote – which accounts for half of the overall scores in the competition.