In the months prior to this year's Eurovision Song Contest, Demandi – an independent information and survey platform – conducted an online poll asking fans their opinion on some of the most hotly discussed topics concerning the contest. The results are out and the fans have expressed that to a large majority of its followers Eurovision is not just a mere song contest but a year-round event!

2.500 fans voted in the 2007 Demandi poll, and 58,3% of them say that "I'm a massive fan – it's a year-round event for me!". 57% say that it is a cross-border event which brings Europe closer together. For 39% of the voters, Eurovision is a bit of healthy rivalry between all countries and for half of them the contest is the most entertaining show they can imagine. There are of course some – 23,1% to be exact- that think it is the trashiest event there is.

When asked which elements of the contest they would like to see re-introduced, a large proportion (51,3%) of the fans want the current voting system but they preferthe results to be read out in full, just like it was before. An astounding 35,8% wants the orchestra back and what should be noted here is that the percentage is highest among voters over 40 years old (41,2%), followed closely by those between 25 to 29 (41,7%). Even voters under 18 years old ask for the orchestra back at a percentage of 22,3%.An overall of 35,6% of the voters said that they want the language rule back. And finally a quarter of the voters want the televoting to be abolished and the jury system back (26,4%).

Of course, no self-respecting poll could exist without taking a look at the voting patterns of the Eurovision Song Contest and the way fans feel about them. While 52% of the voters think that the voting is slightly political, one third doesn't really feel it affects the final outcome at all. Almost a quarter of the voters feel that voting is not actually political, but it is cultural similarities that make certain countries vote for their neighbours. Finally,16% of the voters, feel that the contest's outcome is very predictable due to neighbourly and diaspora voting.

Naturally, the voters stated that they rely on internet sites for keeping informed on the contest. 67,9% say the internet is an essential part for their fan being and they use it a lot, while 28,9% say that they visit Eurovision related sites often.

Another very interesting result is the participants' predictions as far the voting patterns are concerned. Only 1,2% thought that a West European country could win this year as opposed to 18,2% that believed that an Eastern European country would win. 33% believed that the best performance would win regardless of the country, and finally 31,9% refused that there is a behavioural pattern that allows one to predict the winner.

You can read the full results with a breakdown by sex and age of voters here.