The
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the
Olympic Indoor
Hall
in Athens
, Greece on
18 May (for the semi-final) and 20 May 2006 (for the final).
The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was
Ellinikí Radiofonía
Tileórasi . The Finnish band
Lordi won the
contest with the song "
Hard Rock
Hallelujah" with a record 292 points (until Norway's win with
387 points in
2009).
"Hard Rock Hallelujah" was the first ever
hard
rock song to win the contest (Eurovision is normally associated
with softer
pop music and
schlager). This was Finland's first victory in
Eurovision after 45 years of participation.
The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens were popular
Greek singer
Sakis Rouvas (the Greek
representative at Eurovision in 2004 and in 2009) and the
Greek-American television presenter and actress,
Maria Menounos. In the semi-final, both the
hosts sang
Katrina and the
Waves' contest-winning "Love Shine A Light". For one of the
intervals,
Sakis Rouvas sang an English
version of his Greek hit "S'eho Erotefti" called "I'm in love with
you".
Helena Paparizou, who
performed the winning song in Kiev, returned to the Eurovision
stage in Athens. Following the examples of
Sertab Erener and
Ruslana in the last two years,
Helena Paparizou sang in the interval acts
for the final. She sang "
My Number
One" and "
Mambo!". Greek dancers were
also present in the interval acts, as well as other Greek elements.
An official CD and DVD was released and a new introduction was an
official fan book released from this year, and every year to come
with detailed information of every country.
The 2006 contest also saw the 1,000th song to be performed in the
contest, when "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" by Ireland's
Brian Kennedy was first sung in the
semi-final.
Armenia
also entered
for the first time in the contest.
Format
Visual design
The official logo of the contest remained the same from 2004 and
2005 with the country's flag in the heart being changed. The 2006
sub-logo created by the design company Karamela for Greek
television was apparently based on the
Phaistos Disc which is a popular symbol of
ancient Greece. According to
ERT, it was
"inspired by the wind and the sea, the golden sunlight and the glow
of the sand". Following
Istanbul's "Under The Same Sky"
and
Kiev's "Awakening",
the slogan for the 2006 show was "Feel The Rhythm". This theme was
also the basis for the postcards for the 2006 show, which
emphasized Greece's historical significance as well as being a
major modern tourist destination.
Voting
To save time in the final, the voting time lasted ten minutes and
the voting process was changed: points 1-7 were shown immediately
on-screen. The spokespersons only announced the countries scoring
8, 10 and 12 points. Despite this being intended to speed
proceedings up, there were still problems during voting - EBU
imaging over-rode Maria Menounos during a segment in the voting
interval and some scoreboards were slow to load. The Netherlands'
spokesperson
Paul de Leeuw also caused
problems, giving his
mobile number to
presenter Rouvas during the Dutch results, and slowing down
proceedings, also by announcing the first seven points.
Constantinos Christoforou (who
also represented Cyprus
in 1996,
2002 and 2005) saved the day by making a political, still
requisite, statement when saluting from "Nicosia
, the last
divided capital in
Europe". During Cyprus reading, the telecast displayed
Switzerland by mistake. Also, since he took time to read out the 12
points to give some suspense, the points were already added to
Greece in order to proceed with the voting. This voting process has
been criticized because suspense was lost by only reading three
votes instead of ten. And for the first time, the display for the
Macedonian entry had the title spelled out in its entirety (as
"Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") instead of being
abbreviated as it has been in previous years (as "FYR
Macedonia").
Individual Entries
Participating countries
Participating countries in a Eurovision Song Contest must be
active
members of the EBU.
Semi-final
The semi-final was held on 18 May 2006 at 21:00 (
CET). 23 countries performed and all
37 participants and Serbia & Montenegro voted.
Shaded countries qualified for the Eurovision Final
Final
The finalists were:
- the four automatic qualifiers France, Germany, Spain and the
United Kingdom;
- the top 10 countries from the 2005 final (other than the
automatic qualifiers);
- the top 10 countries from the 2006 semi-final.
The final was held on 20 May 2006 at 21:00 (
CET) and was won by Finland.
Countries in bold automatically qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Final.
Voting during the final
Countries revealed their votes in the following order:
Score sheet
Televoting was used in all nations except Monaco and Albania.
Monaco used a jury as the chances of getting enough votes needed to
validify the votes were low. Albania used a jury since there were
problems with their televote. In the semi final, Andorra joined
Monaco and Albania in using the jury due to insufficient televoting
numbers.
Semi-final
|
Televoting Results |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Armenia |
150 |
|
8 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
12 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
12 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
7 |
12 |
2 |
10 |
10 |
| Bulgaria |
36 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Slovenia |
49 |
2 |
0 |
|
0 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| Andorra |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Belarus |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Albania |
58 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
| Belgium |
69 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ireland |
79 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
0 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
| Cyprus |
57 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
| Monaco |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Macedonia |
76 |
8 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Poland |
70 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
|
Russia |
217 |
12 |
12 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
10 |
0 |
5 |
8 |
|
4 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
12 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
12 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
12 |
12 |
5 |
|
Turkey |
91 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
10 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
|
Ukraine |
146 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
|
2 |
0 |
6 |
10 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
4 |
|
Finland |
292 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
0 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
12 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
|
6 |
10 |
8 |
12 |
12 |
8 |
12 |
5 |
10 |
8 |
10 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
5 |
12 |
5 |
12 |
10 |
5 |
7 |
8 |
|
Netherlands |
22 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Lithuania |
163 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
12 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
8 |
5 |
|
5 |
4 |
8 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
4 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
| Portugal |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Sweden |
214 |
6 |
4 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
2 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
12 |
|
7 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
12 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
12 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
| Estonia |
28 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
267 |
5 |
10 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
12 |
10 |
5 |
7 |
12 |
8 |
12 |
8 |
3 |
6 |
10 |
1 |
|
7 |
12 |
8 |
2 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
2 |
12 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
1 |
8 |
1 |
6 |
| Iceland |
62 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
1 |
|
0 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| The table is ordered by
appearance in the semi-final, then by pre-determined voting
order. |
Final
|
Televoting Results |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Switzerland |
30 |
|
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
| Moldova |
22 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Israel |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Latvia |
30 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| Norway |
36 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Spain |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
| Malta |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Germany |
36 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
| Denmark |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Russia |
248 |
0 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
3 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
|
8 |
8 |
6 |
12 |
1 |
8 |
12 |
12 |
2 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
12 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
8 |
2 |
10 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
10 |
|
Macedonia |
56 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
| Romania |
172 |
1 |
12 |
10 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
10 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
|
2 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
10 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
|
229 |
12 |
5 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
12 |
7 |
|
4 |
0 |
6 |
10 |
10 |
6 |
12 |
2 |
10 |
12 |
5 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
12 |
12 |
7 |
|
Lithuania |
162 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
10 |
4 |
8 |
5 |
0 |
6 |
12 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
| United
Kingdom |
25 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Greece |
128 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
|
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
6 |
0 |
12 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
12 |
|
Finland |
292 |
8 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
12 |
10 |
7 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
7 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
|
7 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
7 |
0 |
8 |
10 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
12 |
5 |
7 |
12 |
7 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
| Ukraine |
145 |
0 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
|
0 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
10 |
2 |
5 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
6 |
1 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
| France |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Croatia |
56 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| Ireland |
93 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
5 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
| Sweden |
170 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
0 |
7 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
|
0 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
5 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
0 |
| Turkey |
91 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
6 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
4 |
| Armenia |
129 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
8 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
| The table is ordered by
appearance in the final, then by pre-determined voting order. |
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:
| N. |
Recipient nation |
Voting nation |
| 8 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Albania , Croatia , Macedonia , Monaco , Serbia & Montenegro, Slovenia , Switzerland, Turkey |
| Finland |
Denmark, Estonia , Greece,
Iceland , Norway,
Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom |
| 7 |
Russia |
Armenia, Belarus , Finland,
Israel , Latvia , Lithuania , Ukraine |
| 3 |
Turkey |
France, Germany, Netherlands |
| 2 |
Armenia |
Belgium, Russia |
| Greece |
Cyprus, Bulgaria |
Romania |
Moldova , Spain |
| 1 |
Croatia |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Lithuania |
Ireland |
| Moldova |
Romania |
| Spain |
Andorra |
| Switzerland |
Malta |
| Ukraine |
Portugal |
Other countries
- On 18 June 2005, Austrian newspaper Kurier reported that the
Austrian broadcaster ORF would not
be taking part in the 2006 contest.
- On 5
October 2005 the managing director of Georgia Television &
Radio Broadcasting stated that Georgia
would not enter the 2006 contest.
- On 6
October 2005 Česká televize
announced that the Czech Republic would not
participate.
- On 9
December 2005 Hungarian broadcaster Magyar
TV
announced that Hungary would not participate for
financial reasons.
- Italy has not taken part in the Contest since 1997.
Serbia and Montenegro withdrew
from the contest due to a scandal in the selection
process, which has caused tensions between the Serbian
broadcaster, RTS, and the Montenegran
broadcaster, RTCG. Serbia and Montenegro did retain
voting rights for the contest.
Serbia and Montenegro's
withdrawal left a vacancy in the final. In the delegations
meeting on March 20, it was decided that Croatia, who
finished 11th in the 2005 Contest, would fill the empty
spot.
The other
EBU
countries that did not participate were Slovakia
, Luxembourg
, Morocco
, Algeria
, Lebanon
, Egypt
, Jordan
, Tunisia
, Libya
and
San
Marino
. Liechtenstein
was not able to participate as it does not have a
national television or radio service and therefore is not a member of the
EBU.
Ratings
After the
Contest, EBU officials
that the overall ratings for the Semi-Final were 35% higher than in
2005, and for the Final had risen by 28%.
In France, average market shares reached 30.3%, up by 8% over the
2005 figure. Other countries that showed a rise in average market
shares included Germany with 38% (up from 29%), United Kingdom with
37.5% (up from 36%), Spain with 36% (up from 35%), Ireland with 58%
(up from 35%) and Sweden, which reached over 80% compared to 57%
the year previously.
Voting
revenues had also risen from the Kiev
Contest,
and the official Eurovision website, www.eurovision.tv, reported
visits from over 200 countries and over 98 million page views,
compared with 85 million in 2005.
Noteworthy occurrences and records
From the Final
- Finland waited 44 years since their debut in 1961 to achieve
their first victory. The Finns have been waiting since 1977 for
their fourth set of 12 points; this year they finally achieved one
again - in fact, they received eight.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
reached third place, its highest position
ever. The seventh place reached in 1999 was its most
successful entry.
- Sweden's Carola obtained 170
points without getting any 12-pointers and reached 5th place.
- Though Turkey was the
fourth country with the most 12s (received from France, Germany and
Netherlands), the entry by Sibel
Tüzün only reached 11th place with 91 points.
- Lithuania waited 12 years to receive their first 12
points. This was finally realised by votes from the diaspora
of Ireland.
- Runner-up Russia and 4th placed Romania were voted for by 35 countries, more than winner
Finland, who received votes from 34 countries.
- The
United Kingdom placed 19th, receiving points from 10 countries,
while Macedonia (12th), Croatia (13th) and
Denmark (18th) were voted for by 9, 8 and only 5 countries
respectively.
- It is
noticed that Turkey received 91
points both in the semi final and the final, while Macedonia received 76 points in the semi final and 56 points
in the final. Though if the country also received 76 points
in the final it would still have been placed 12th.
- As of the conclusion of the 2008 contest, Greece holds the
record for the most successful run in the Eurovision Song Contest
since its shake-up in 2004. It is the only country that has not yet
been relegated to the semi-final (excluding the Big Four), after
having attained places in the top 10 since then (third in 2004,
first in 2005, ninth in 2006). This record has been maintained
beyond Athens, reaching seventh in Helsinki 2007, third in Belgrade
2008 and seventh again in Moscow 2009.
- Despite having withdrawn from the 2006 contest, Serbia and Montenegro retained their
voting rights. During the announcement of their votes, spokesperson
Jovana Janković said "So, as
you know, we don't have a song for you this year, but we promise
that next year we will give you the best one." Her promise was
fulfilled when Marija
Šerifović of Serbia
won the
contest the following
year. Janković would also host the 2008 Contest.
Returning Artists
Broadcasting
International broadcasts
- Australia
- Although Australia is not itself eligible to enter, the
semi-final and final were broadcast on SBS. As is the case each year,
they were not however broadcast live due to the difference in
Australian time zones. Australia aired the United Kingdom's
broadcast, including commentary from Paddy O'Connell and Terry Wogan. Before the broadcasts, viewers were
told by an SBS host that the Eurovision Song Contest was one of
their most popular programmes. The final rated an estimated
462,000, and was ranked 21st of the broadcasters top rating
programs for the 2005/06 financial year. [http
- Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijan
were willing to enter the contest but since
AzTV applied for active EBU membership but was
denied on June 18, 2007, they missed the contest and have to wait
until they're accepted. Another Azerbaijan broadcaster, OTV,
broadcast the contest. It is a passive EBU member, and has
broadcast it for the last 2 years. It was the only
non-participating broadcaster this year to send its own
commentators to the contest.[http
- Italy: Italian television
did not enter because RAI
, the
national broadcaster, is in strong competition with commercial TV
stations and they believe that the Eurovision Song Contest would
not be a popular show in Italy. They have not broadcast the
contest in recent years, although an independent Italian channel
for the gay community has shown the show.
- Worldwide
- A live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast
worldwide by satellite through Eurovision streams such as Channel One Russia, ERT World, TVE
Internacional, TVP Polonia, RTP Internacional and TVR
i. The [http
- Possible broadcasts
- Japan, Kazakhstan
, the Netherlands Antilles
, Suriname
and Vietnam
may have broadcast as well, as they have also
broadcast the contest in the past. While Liechtenstein has no television broadcaster of its own,
Liechtensteiners could watch the contest on Swiss, Austrian or
German television.
- Gibraltar: Gibraltar
screened only the final.
- Kosovo: The Republic of
Kosovo
, broadcast
the contest live on RTK.
Commentators
- Andorra - Meri Picart & Josep Lluis Trabal
- Austria - Andi Knoll
- Belarus - Denis Kurjan
- Belgium - André Vermeulen & Bart Peeters (Dutch)
Jean-Pierre Hautier (French)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Dejan Kukrić
- Croatia - Duško Čurlić
- Cyprus - Evi Papamichael
- Denmark - Mads Vangsø &
Adam Duvå Hall
- Estonia - Marko Reikop
- Finland - Heikki Paasonen & Jaana
Pelkonen & Asko Murtomäki (Finnish) Thomas Lundin
(Swedish)
- France - Michel Drucker &
Claudy Siar
- Germany - Peter Urban
- Greece - Giorgos Kapoutzidis
& Zeta Makrypoulia
- Iceland - Sigmar Guðmundsson
- Ireland - Marty Whelan
- Latvia - Kārlis Streips
- Lithuania - Darius Užkuraitis
- Macedonia - Karolina Petkovska
- Malta - Eileen Montesin
- Monaco - Bernard Montiel & Églantine Eméyé
- Netherlands - Cornald Maas & Paul
de Leeuw
- Norway - Jostein Pedersen
- Poland - Artur Orzech
- Portugal - Eládio Clímaco
- Romania - Andreea Demirgian
- Russia - Yuri Aksyuta & Tatiana Godunova
- Serbia - Duška Vučinić-Lučić
- Slovenia - Mojca Mavec
- Spain - Beatriz Pecker
- Sweden - Pekka Heino
- Switzerland - Sandra Studer
(German), Jean-Marc Richard & Alain Morisod (French)
- Turkey - Bülent Özveren
- Ukraine - Pavlo Shylko (DJ Pasha)
- United Kingdom - Paddy O'Connell
(semi-final) & Terry Wogan (final)
(BBC TV), Ken Bruce
(BBC Radio 2)
Spokespersons
The following people were the spokespersons for their countries. A
spokesperson delivers the results of national televoting during the
final night, awarding points to the entries on behalf of his or her
country. [143581]
References
External links
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
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