Eurovision Song Contest 2007

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Eurovision Song Contest 2007
"True Fantasy"
Final 12 May 2007
Semi-final 10 May 2007
Presenter(s) Jaana Pelkonen
Mikko Leppilampi
Krisse Salminen (Green Room host)
Host broadcaster Flag of Finland YLE
Venue Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland
Winning song Flag of Serbia Serbia
"Molitva"
Voting system
Each country votes by tele-vote or SMS. The country's 10 favourites are awarded 12, 10, then 8 through 1 points based on votes. All participating countries present points, totalling them to determine a winner.
Number of entries 42: 28 in the semi-final; 24 in the final, 10 of which came from the semi-final.
Debuting countries Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic
Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro
Flag of Serbia Serbia
Returning countries Flag of Austria Austria
Flag of Hungary Hungary
Withdrawing countries Flag of Monaco Monaco
Nul points None
Interval act Apocalyptica
Opening act Lordi movie from Rovaniemi
Eurovision Song Contest
◄2006        2008►

The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by Serbia [1] and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.

Finland earned the right to host the event after heavy metal band Lordi's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. It was the first time the Contest had been held in Finland. A budget of 13 million was presented for arranging the contest. Other bids to host the contest came from Espoo, Turku and Tampere. The hosts were Finnish television personality Jaana Pelkonen and Finnish musician, stage performer and actor Mikko Leppilampi. Krisse Salminen acted as guest host in the green room, and reported from the crowds at the Senate Square.

A record number of 42 countries participated. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) put aside its limit of 40 countries, which would have meant excluding some countries using a ranking order scheme.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Visual design

The official logo of the contest remained the same as 2006; the flag in the centre of the heart was changed to the Finnish flag. The European Broadcasting Union and YLE announced that the theme for the 2007 contest would be "True Fantasy", which embraced Finland and "Finnishness" in terms of the polarities associated with the country.[2] The design agency Dog Design was responsible for the design of the visual theme of the contest which incorporated vibrant kaleidoscopic patterns formed from various symbols including exclamation marks and the letter F.[3] The stage was in the shape of a kantele, a traditional Finnish instrument. On 20 February 2007 a reworked official website for the contest was launched marking the first public exhibition of this year's theme. An official CD and DVD were released (but no HD DVD or Blu-ray, despite the event being broadcast in high definition for the first time). An official fan book was also released.

[edit] Format

On 12 March 2007, the draws for the running order for the semi-final, final and voting procedure took place. A new feature allowed five wild-card countries from the semi-final and three countries from the final to choose their starting position. The heads of

Hartwall Areena, the venue of ESC 2007
Hartwall Areena, the venue of ESC 2007

delegation went on stage and chose the number they would take. In the semi-final, Austria, Andorra, Turkey, Slovenia and Latvia were able to choose their positions. In the final, Armenia, Ukraine and Germany were able to exercise this privilege. All countries opted for spots in the second half of both evenings. Shortly after the draw, the entries were approved by the EBU, ending the possibility of disqualification for the Israeli song.[citation needed] The United Kingdom chose their entry after the deadline because they were granted special dispensation from the EBU.

The contest saw some minor changes to the voting time-frame. The compilation summary video of all entries including phone numbers was shown twice. The voting process was the same as 2006 except there was fifteen minutes to vote, an increase of five on the 2006 Contest. In the final, the results from each country were once again shown from one to seven points automatically on screen and only eight, ten and twelve were read by the spokespeople. For the first time, the winner was awarded a promotion tour around Europe, visiting Denmark, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece and Germany. The tour was held between 16 May and 21 May. The event was sponsored by European communications group TeliaSonera, and — as with several previous contests — Nobel Biocare.

[edit] Individual Entries

[edit] Participating countries

Marija Šerifović performing "Molitva" for Serbia

Participating countries in a Eurovision Song Contest must be active members of the EBU.

42 countries submitted preliminary applications. Although in previous years the maximum number of participating countries was 40, the EBU allowed all 42 to participate in 2007. The Czech Republic, Serbia, Montenegro and Georgia all entered the contest for the first time in 2007. [4] Monaco announced its withdrawal on 12 December 2006, [5] and the EBU announced the final lineup of 42 countries on 15 December 2006.

[edit] Final

The finalists were:

  • the four automatic qualifiers France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom;
  • the top 10 countries from the 2006 final (other than the automatic qualifiers);
  • the top 10 countries from the 2007 semi-final.

The final was held on 12 May 2007 at 21:00 (CET).

Draw Country Language Artist Song English Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian Marija Rijeka bez imena River Without A Name 11 106
02 Flag of Spain Spain Spanish, English D'NASH I Love You Mi Vida I Love You My Darling 20 43
03 Flag of Belarus Belarus English Dmitry Koldun Work Your Magic - 6 145
04 Flag of Ireland Ireland English Dervish They Can't Stop The Spring - 24 5
05 Flag of Finland Finland English Hanna Pakarinen Leave Me Alone - 17 53
06 Flag of the Republic of Macedonia FYR Macedonia Macedonian, English Karolina Mojot Svet (Мојот Свет) My World 14 73
07 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Slovene Alenka Gotar Cvet z juga Flower of the South 15 66
08 Flag of Hungary Hungary English Magdi Rúzsa Unsubstantial Blues - 9 128
09 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania English 4Fun Love Or Leave - 21 28
10 Flag of Greece Greece English Sarbel Yassou Maria Hello Maria 7 139
11 Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia English Sopho Visionary Dream - 12 97
12 Flag of Sweden Sweden English The Ark The Worrying Kind - 18 51
13 Flag of France France French, English ("Franglais") Les Fatals Picards L'Amour À La Française Love - The French Way 22 19
14 Flag of Latvia Latvia Italian Bonaparti.lv Questa Notte Tonight 16 54
15 Flag of Russia Russia English Serebro Song #1 - 3 207
16 Flag of Germany Germany German, English Roger Cicero Frauen regier'n die Welt Women Rule The World 19 49
17 Flag of Serbia Serbia Serbian Marija Šerifović Molitva (Молитва) Prayer 1 268
18 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Ukrainian, German, English Verka Serduchka Dancing Lasha Tumbai - 2 235
19 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom English Scooch Flying the Flag (for You) - 22 19
20 Flag of Romania Romania English, Italian, Spanish,
Russian, French, Romanian
Todomondo Liubi, Liubi, I Love You Love, Love, I Love You 13 84
21 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgarian Elitsa Todorova
and Stoyan Yankoulov
Water - 5 157
22 Flag of Turkey Turkey English Kenan Doğulu Shake It Up Şekerim Shake It Up Sweetheart 4 163
23 Flag of Armenia Armenia English, Armenian Hayko Anytime You Need - 8 138
24 Flag of Moldova Moldova English Natalia Barbu Fight - 10 109

[edit] Semi-final

The semi-final was held on 10 May 2007 at 21:00 (CET). 28 countries performed and all 42 participants voted.

Shaded countries qualified for the Eurovision Final

Draw Country Language Artist Song English Translation Place Points
1 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgarian Elitsa Todorova
and Stoyan Yankoulov
Water - 6 146
2 Flag of Israel Israel English, French, Hebrew Teapacks Push The Button - 24 17
3 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus French Evridiki & D. Korgialas Comme Ci, Comme Ça Like This, Like That 15 65
4 Flag of Belarus Belarus English Koldun Work Your Magic - 4 176
5 Flag of Iceland Iceland English Eiríkur Hauksson Valentine Lost - 13 77
6 Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia English Sopho Visionary Dream - 8 123
7 Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Montenegrin Stevan Faddy 'Ajde, kroči ('Ајде, крочи) Come On, Step In 22 33
8 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland English DJ Bobo Vampires Are Alive - 20 40
9 Flag of Moldova Moldova English Natalia Barbu Fight - 10 91
10 Flag of the Netherlands Netherlands English Edsilia Rombley On Top of the World - 21 38
11 Flag of Albania Albania English, Albanian Frederik Ndoci Hear My Plea - 17 49
12 Flag of Denmark Denmark English DQ Drama Queen - 19 45
13 Flag of Croatia Croatia Croatian, English Dragonfly feat. Dado Topić Vjerujem U Ljubav I Believe In Love 16 54
14 Flag of Poland Poland English The Jet Set Time To Party - 14 75
15 Flag of Serbia Serbia Serbian Marija Šerifović Molitva (Молитва) Prayer 1 298
16 Flag of the Czech Republic Czech Republic Czech Kabát Malá Dáma Little Lady 28 1
17 Flag of Portugal Portugal Portuguese, English,
Spanish, French
Sabrina Dança Comigo Come Dance With Me 11 88
18 Flag of the Republic of Macedonia FYR Macedonia Macedonian, English Karolina Mojot Svet (Мојот Свет) My World 9 97
19 Flag of Norway Norway English, Spanish Guri Schanke Ven a bailar conmigo Come And Dance With Me 18 48
20 Flag of Malta Malta English Olivia Lewis Vertigo - 25 15
21 Flag of Andorra Andorra Catalan, English Anonymous Salvem El Món Let's Save The World 12 80
22 Flag of Hungary Hungary English Magdi Rúzsa Unsubstantial Blues - 2 224
23 Flag of Estonia Estonia English Gerli Padar Partners in Crime - 22 33
24 Flag of Belgium Belgium English The KMG's LovePower - 26 14
25 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Slovenian Alenka Gotar Cvet z juga Flower of the South 7 140
26 Flag of Turkey Turkey English Kenan Doğulu Shake It Up Şekerim Shake It Up Sekerim 3 198
27 Flag of Austria Austria English Eric Papilaya Get A Life - Get Alive - 27 4
28 Flag of Latvia Latvia Italian Bonaparti.lv Questa Notte Tonight 5 168

[edit] Other involved countries

Flag of Australia Australia 
Although Australia is not itself eligible to enter, the semi-final and final were broadcast the event on SBS[6]. As is the case each year, they were not broadcast live due to the difference in Australian time zones. Australia aired the United Kingdom's broadcast, including commentary from Paddy O'Connell, Sarah Cawood 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 436,000 viewers, and was ranked number 20 on the broadcasters top rating programs of the 2006/2007 financial year. [1]
Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 
Azerbaijan were willing to enter the contest but since AzTV applied for active EBU membership but was denied on 18 June 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 two years. It was the only non-participating broadcaster this year to send its own commentators to the contest.[2]
Flag of Italy Italy
Italian television has not entered since 1997. National broadcaster RAI is in strong competition with commercial TV stations and believes that Eurovision would not be a popular show in Italy, although the 1991 edition was followed by 6 million people. They have not broadcast the contest in recent years, although an independent Italian channel for the gay community has shown the show.[citation needed]
Flag of Monaco Monaco
Monaco broadcast the final on TMC after having withdrawn from this competition in December 2006. An attempt for a return is not known.
Flag of World 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 official Eurovision Song Contest website also provided a live stream without commentary using the peer to peer transport Octoshape.
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.[citation needed]
Flag of Gibraltar Gibraltar
Gibraltar screened only the final.[citation needed]

[edit] High-definition broadcast

YLE produced the event in 1080i HD and 5.1 Surround Sound.[7] This was the first year that the event was broadcast live in HD. The BBC in the United Kingdom broadcast the final in high definition on BBC HD.[8] Swedish broadcaster SVT broadcast both the semi-final and the final on their HD-channel SVT HD.[9] However the event is only available to buy on standard-definition DVD, with no HD DVD or Blu-ray version available in high definition.

[edit] Score sheet

All countries participating in the contest were required to use televoting and/or SMS voting during both evenings of the contest. In the event of technical difficulties, or if the votes of the country did not meet the EBU threshold, then a back-up jury's results were to be used. Albania and Andorra were the only countries that used juries. A draw was held in Helsinki to establish the order in which the countries presented their votes during the final.

Televoting Results [10]
Total Score Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Latvia Lithuania Malta Moldova Montenegro Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Netherlands Turkey Ukraine UK
Contestants Bosnia-Herzegovina 106 8 0 1 8 0 0 0 10 0 4 7 0 0 1 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 6 0 0 0 0 8 8 0 6 8 7 10 0 0
Spain 43 12 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 4 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0
Belarus 145 2 0 10 0 0 4 1 0 6 2 0 7 0 0 7 8 0 5 4 4 0 12 8 7 10 10 3 0 7 1 1 12 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0
Ireland 5 5 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 0 0 0 0
Finland 53 0 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 0 0 0 0 0
FYR Macedonia 73 3 0 0 1 0 0 8 10 8 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 6 0 1 0 0
Slovenia 66 0 0 0 0 4 2 7 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 5 0 8 0 4 3 0 3 5 3 0 0 0 0 4 0
Hungary 128 0 6 0 2 0 5 0 0 4 0 0 8 4 10 0 0 5 7 0 8 5 0 5 4 1 0 0 8 2 2 8 0 12 5 0 8 3 4 0 0 2
Lithuania 28 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Greece 139 7 0 8 0 3 8 3 12 12 3 1 0 0 3 3 4 10 7 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 10 0 4 0 2 4 4 5 4 0 10
Georgia 97 0 0 5 0 6 6 1 0 2 1 1 0 5 7 0 0 0 3 2 1 6 6 12 0 4 0 0 5 0 0 7 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 8 0
Sweden 51 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
France 19 4 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Latvia 54 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 10 4 0 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 3 0 0 4
Russia 207 0 3 12 0 12 0 2 5 3 7 6 2 12 3 2 5 7 6 8 6 1 6 8 7 6 6 8 6 5 3 4 3 7 3 4 5 0 0 8 10 6
Germany 49 6 5 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 7 6 0 0 1
Serbia 268 1 0 7 12 7 7 12 6 12 3 8 6 0 12 8 12 6 8 4 12 7 4 3 3 0 8 5 12 10 8 5 6 5 12 1 10 12 8 0 6 0
Ukraine 235 0 12 6 4 10 1 5 3 5 4 12 3 8 6 4 2 10 5 7 3 6 8 10 12 8 3 7 2 2 12 12 4 8 3 4 7 3 2 1 3 8
United Kingdom 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Romania 84 0 10 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 8 0 3 7 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 12 0 0 0 2 2 0
Bulgaria 157 0 0 4 6 0 4 6 6 10 7 0 1 5 5 8 0 4 12 10 0 0 0 2 0 7 3 5 0 0 6 5 4 6 7 10 0 0 0 6 3 5
Turkey 163 10 0 0 10 0 12 10 7 0 0 0 10 0 4 12 10 2 12 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 0 0 7 2 0 0 0 7 10 12 1 12
Armenia 138 0 0 5 5 10 0 8 0 8 10 0 0 0 10 0 12 2 6 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 0 8 0 0 10 12 5 0
Moldova 109 0 4 3 0 8 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 0 10 5 0 2 4 0 2 0 0 1 6 10 12 6 1 1 6 2 0 0 7 7 0

The Semi-Final scoreboard can be found at "External Links" further down.

[edit] 12 Points

Below is a summary of all 12 point in the final:

N. To From
9 Serbia Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Finland, FYR Macedonia, Hungary, Montenegro, Slovenia, Switzerland
5 Turkey Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom
Ukraine Andorra, Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Portugal
3 Belarus Israel, Russia, Ukraine
Russia Armenia, Belarus, Estonia
2 Armenia Georgia, Turkey
Greece Bulgaria, Cyprus
Finland Iceland, Sweden
Romania Moldova, Spain
Sweden Denmark, Norway
1 Bulgaria Greece
Georgia Lithuania
Hungary Serbia
Lithuania Ireland
Moldova Romania
Spain Albania
United Kingdom Malta

[edit] Commentators

[edit] Spokespersons

Announcing the votes.

[edit] Maps

[edit] Participation

     "Big 4" countries, that automatically qualify for the final      Countries that qualified for the final due to the 2006 results      Countries that qualified from the semi-final      Countries that didn't qualify from the semi-final      Countries that have participated in the past, but not this year * Debuting countries † Returning countries
     "Big 4" countries, that automatically qualify for the final      Countries that qualified for the final due to the 2006 results      Countries that qualified from the semi-final      Countries that didn't qualify from the semi-final      Countries that have participated in the past, but not this year * Debuting countries
Returning countries


[edit] Controversy

Some countries have protested against the voting system following the 2007 contest. Robert Abela, in charge of Malta's contingent, suggested many results were "not based solely on the public vote", while also admitting the 12 points Malta gave United Kingdom were fixed deliberately in protest of bloc-voting. "The way the voting is processed in the EBU is wrong, and needs updating", say many Eurovision fans. [12]

German newspaper Bild commented on the irony that Western European countries pay the largest amount for a competition where they apparently have no chance of winning. Germany's sole winner, Nicole, was also quoted as saying "It is obvious that Eastern European countries engage in dirty trade with points every year. Germany should withdraw from the competition". [12] The voting was also brought up in the Parliament of the United Kingdom by Liberal Democrat MP Richard Younger-Ross who suggested the current voting system is "harmful to the relationship between the peoples of Europe". [13]

In contrast, both EBU and many papers in the same West European countries hit back strongly at this criticism, saying that it was more about racism and discrimination being displayed in some West European countries than actual concern for the competition. [3]. The fact that the results would have remained more or less the same, with the same winner, even if only West European votes had been counted was also brought forward as evidence for the criticism being more about negative feelings towards East European countries rather than any actual bias in the competition. In Finland, the organising country, the bad reactions in some countries even became the topic of the leader page in papers, Hufvudstadsbladet accusing those who still divide Europe into a Western and an Eastern part for being stuck in history, and encouraging all Europeans not to let "envious bad losers destroy a nice and all-European spectacle". [4]. The Swedish paper Expressen wrote about feeling "shame" over the reactions in many west European nations and claimed that the Eurovision Song Contest had never been better. Calling the Serbian winner a "worthy, historic winner", it went on to call the proposals for a separate contest "incredibly pathetic".[5]

Further information: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest

[edit] Gallery

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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