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An off-key contestant wasn't the only sound Eurovision 2015 organisers were dreading at the grand final in Vienna on Saturday night.
The song contest's techies took the unprecedented precaution of installing anti-booing technology to protect the Russian contestant Polina Gagarina from copping the same anti-Russian sentiment as her predecessors.
The Tolmachevy Sisters were booed several times during their 2014 Eurovision performance. The boos and jeers dogged the Russian entrants with every point awarded to Russia during the official scoring portion of the broadcast.
The sour greeting was widely considered a response to Russia's heavily criticised military actions in Ukraine, and its stance on homosexuality.
"It was very embarrassing for us last year when this happened, as it is not in the spirit of the contest," Eurovision communications coordinator Jarmo Siim told The Moscow Times on Monday.
Mr Siim refused to go into detail about how their sound-reducing technology worked, saying only that the buffer was a "plan B" and would stifle booing on the broadcast.
"It is the first time we have prepared in this way, we want to be ready in all scenarios [but] we have high expectations that nothing like this will happen," he said.
Europe's displeasure over Russia's domestic and international policies still hung over this year's Eurovision.
Russia's anti-gay marriage legislation directly conflicted with changing attitudes across Europe. Most recently Ireland voted 'yes' in its referendum on legalising gay marriage. And economic sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its actions in the Ukraine are still in place.
We won't know if Russia is booed for #LGBT laws during #Eurovision2015. Show will use boo-cancelling tech tonight http://t.co/6wsD0pXm7N— John Forrest Ales (@JFAtweets) May 23, 2015
The Eurovision hosts asked the crowd not to boo several times throughout the broadcast and when last year's winner Conchita Wurst asked the green room of Eurovision contestants to cheer Russia the response was meagre.
But the mysterious anti-booing buffer seemed to hamper the boos in the broadcast to some extent.
While media attending the grand final at Vienna's Wiener Stadthalle reported hearing some booing from the 11,000-strong crowd, cheers and applause almost overwhelmed the boos that made their way into the lounge rooms of the international audience who had tuned in to watch the live broadcast.
More boos in green room for Russia. (More booze for Austria and Germany on nul point?) #eurovision2015— BBC Eurovision (@bbceurovision) May 23, 2015
The level of anti-Russian sentiment paled in comparison to last year, according to reports from the Eurovision arena, with British Eurovision host Graham Norton saying "the cheers were real" following Gagarina's performance of her song A Million Voices.
For its part, Russia seemed to be placating its detractors with its song choice this year, appealing for peace and acceptance.
Gagarina openly wept during the cheers and applause that followed her grand final performance, which clinched the songstress' place among the favourites to win the competition.
But the songstress managed to attract criticism from conservatives at home after she posted a backstage video of herself hugging and blowing air kisses to last year's drag queen winner Conchita Wurst.
Prominent St Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov who spearheaded Russia's anti-gay legislation responded by saying "Don't you dare soil Russia by hugging the europervert," Russia's NTV.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Cyrill said he hoped Russia lost, calling the song contest "a hotbed of sodomy", and "all those bearded female singers… [are] repulsive to our soul and our culture".
After Russia's loss this year plus their being boo'd at, I wonder if the #EurovisionSongContest might make this list https://t.co/Y8WZyTPIlL— Jan Anderson (@ubinam_rosarium) May 24, 2015
Despite the acrimony from both the left and the right, Russia's good odds were not surprising and not far off the mark.
Even in 2014 the animosity towards the superpower was not enough to overwhelm Eurovision's credentials as an arena of soft politics as much as entertainment. A strong former-soviet voting bloc helped secure seventh place for the Tolmachevy sisters.
And when all the votes were counted on Saturday night, the buffered Gagarina nabbed second place.