Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 "Feel The Rhythm"
Final	20 May 2006
Semi-final	18 May 2006
Presenter(s)	Maria Menounos Sakis Rouvas
Director	Volker Weicker
Host broadcaster	ERT
Venue	OAKA Indoor Hall, Athens, Greece
Winning song	Finland "Hard Rock Hallelujah"
Voting system
Each country awards 1-8, 10, and 12 points to their 10 favourite songs
Number of entries	24 in final, another 13 DNQ from semi-final
Debuting countries	Armenia
Withdrawing countries	Austria  Hungary  Serbia and Montenegro
Nul points	None
Interval act	Elena Paparizou Foteini Darra Sakis Rouvas Greek dancers
Eurovision Song Contest
[[Eurovision Song Contest ◄2005|◄◄2005]]        [[Eurovision Song Contest 2007►|2007►►]]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the OAKA Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on the 18 May 2006 (for the semi-final) and 20 May 2006 (for the final). The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT). The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" with a record 292 points. "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 also Finland's (1961 debut) first victory in Eurovision after 45 years of participation.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.

The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens were popular Greek singer Sakis Rouvas (the Greek representative at Eurovision in 2004) and the Greek-American television presenter and actress, Maria Menounos.^[1] 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.

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. 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 it's entirety instead of being abbreviated as it has been in previous years.

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. A number of fans were also shocked by the success of the Lithuanian entry - LT United singing 'We Are The Winners' and the failure of the Belgian entry - 'Je t'adore' by Kate Ryan, to qualify from the Semi-Final.

Individual Entries

Participating countries

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

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).

Countries in bold automatically qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Final.

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	Translation	Place	Points
01	Switzerland	English	Six4One	"If We All Give A Little"	-	16	30
02	Moldova	English, Spanish	Arsenium feat. Natalia Gordienko & Connect-R	"Loca"	Crazy	20	22
03	Israel	English, Hebrew	Eddie Butler	"Together We Are One"	-	23	4
04	Latvia	English	Vocal Group Cosmos	"I Hear Your Heart"	-	16	30
05	Norway	Norwegian	Christine Guldbrandsen	"Alvedansen"	The Elf Dance	14	36
06	Spain	Spanish	Las Ketchup	"Un Blodymary"	One Bloody Mary	21	18
07	Malta	English	Fabrizio Faniello	"I Do"	-	24	1
08	Germany	English	Texas Lightning	"No No Never"	-	14	36
09	Denmark	English	Sidsel Ben Semmane	"Twist of Love"	-	18	26
10	Russia	English	Dima Bilan	"Never Let You Go"	-	2	248
11	FYR Macedonia	English, Macedonian	Elena Risteska	"Ninanajna" (Нинанајна)	-	12	56
12	Romania	English, Italian	Mihai Trăistariu	"Tornerò"	I'll Return	4	172
13	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnian	Hari Mata Hari	"Lejla"	Layla	3	229
14	Lithuania	English, French	LT United	"We Are The Winners"	-	6	162
15	United Kingdom	English	Daz Sampson	"Teenage Life"	-	19	25
16	Greece	English	Anna Vissi	"Everything"	-	9	128
17	Finland	English	Lordi	"Hard Rock Hallelujah"	-	1	292
18	Ukraine	English	Tina Karol	"Show Me Your Love"	-	7	145
19	France	French	Virginie Pouchain	"Il était temps"	The Time Has Come	22	5
20	Croatia	Croatian	Severina	"Moja štikla"	My High Heel	13	56
21	Ireland	English	Brian Kennedy	"Every Song Is a Cry for Love"	-	10	93
22	Sweden	English	Carola	"Invincible"	-	5	170
23	Turkey	Turkish, English	Sibel Tüzün	"Süper Star"	Superstar	11	91
24	Armenia	English	André	"Without Your Love"	-	8	129

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

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	Translation	Place	Points
1	Armenia	English	André	"Without Your Love"	-	6	150
2	Bulgaria	English	Mariana Popova	"Let Me Cry"	-	17	36
3	Slovenia	English	Anžej Dežan	"Mr Nobody"	-	16	49
4	Andorra	Catalan	Jenny	"Sense tu"	Without You	23	8
5	Belarus	English	Polina Smolova	"Mum"	-	22	10
6	Albania	Albanian	Luiz Ejlli	"Zjarr e ftohtë"	Fire And Cold	14	58
7	Belgium	English	Kate Ryan	"Je t'adore"	I Adore You	12	69
8	Ireland	English	Brian Kennedy	"Every Song Is a Cry for Love"	-	9	79
9	Cyprus	English	Annet Artani	"Why Angels Cry"	-	15	57
10	Monaco	French, Tahitian	Séverine Ferrer	"La Coco-Dance"	The Coco Dance	21	14
11	FYR Macedonia	English, Macedonian	Elena Risteska	"Ninanajna" (Нинанајна)	-	10	76
12	Poland	English, Polish, German, Russian, Spanish	Ich Troje feat. Real McCoy	"Follow My Heart"	-	11	70
13	Russia	English	Dima Bilan	"Never Let You Go"	-	3	217
14	Turkey	Turkish	Sibel Tüzün	"Süper Star"	Superstar	8	91
15	Ukraine	English	Tina Karol	"Show Me Your Love"	-	7	146
16	Finland	English	Lordi	"Hard Rock Hallelujah"	-	1	292
17	Netherlands	English, Imaginary	Treble	"Amambanda"	-	20	22
18	Lithuania	English, French	LT United	"We Are The Winners"	-	5	163
19	Portugal	English, Portuguese	Nonstop	"Coisas de nada"	Meaningless Things	19	26
20	Sweden	English	Carola	"Invincible"	-	4	214
21	Estonia	English	Sandra Oxenryd	"Through My Window"	-	18	28
22	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnian	Hari Mata Hari	"Lejla"	Layla	2	267
23	Iceland	English	Silvia Night	"Congratulations"	-	13	62

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 & Albania in using the jury due to insufficient televoting numbers.

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
	FYR 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	7	6	1	7	5	6	6	3	4	5	3	10	2	4	4	10	0	3	3	2	0	2	2
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	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 point in the final:

Other countries

• On June 18 2005, Austrian newspaper Kurier reported that the Austrian broadcaster ORF would not be taking part in the 2006 contest.
• On October 5 2005 the managing director of Georgia Television & Radio Broadcasting stated that Georgia would not enter the 2006 contest.
• On October 6 2005 Česká televize announced that the Czech Republic would not participate.
• On December 9 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 Montenegrin 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 occurances 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.
• 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 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 FYR 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 FYR 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 at the conclusion of the 2006 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 4), after having attained places in the top 10 since then (third in 2004, first in 2005, ninth in 2006).
• 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.^[2] Janković would also host the 2008 Contest.

Non-participating regions where the contest was broadcast

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. [1]

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 2 years. It was the only non-participating broadcaster this year to send its own commentators to the contest.[2]

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 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.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar screened only the final.

Kosovo

The Serbian autonomous province of Kosovo, broadcast the contest live on RTK.

Commentators

• Andorra - Meri Picart & Josep Lluis Trabal
• Austria - Andi Knoll
• 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. [3]

• Albania - Leon Menkshi
• Andorra - Xavi Palma
• Armenia - Gohar Gasparyan
• Belarus - Corrianna
• Belgium - Yasmine
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - Vesna Andree Zaimović
• Bulgaria - Dragomir Simeonov
• Croatia - Mila Horvat
• Cyprus - Constantinos Christoforou (Cypriot singer in the 1996, 2002 and 2005 Contests)
• Denmark - Jørgen de Mylius
• Estonia - Evelin Samuel (Estonian singer in the 1999 Contest and veteran of several 1990s Eurolauls)
• Finland - Nina Tapio
• France - Sophie Jovillard
• Germany - Thomas Hermanns
• Greece - Alexis Kostalas
• Iceland - Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir
• Ireland - Eimear Quinn (Irish singer in the 1996 Contest, which she won)
• Israel - Dana Herman
• Latvia - Mārtiņš Freimanis (Latvian singer in the 2003 Contest as part of F.L.Y.)
• Lithuania - Lavija Šurnaitė
• Macedonia - Martin Vučić (Macedonian singer in the 2005 Contest)
• Malta - Moira Delia
• Monaco - Églantine Eméyé
• Moldova - Svetlana Cocosh
• Netherlands - Paul de Leeuw
• Norway - Ingvild Helljesen
• Poland - Maciej Orłoś
• Portugal - Cristina Alves
• Romania - Andreea Marin Bănică
• Russia - Yana Churikova
• Serbia and Montenegro - Jovana Janković (Host for the 2008 Contest)
• Slovenia - Peter Poles
• Spain - Sonia Ferrer
• Sweden - Jovan Radomir
• Switzerland - Jubaira Bachmann
• Turkey - Meltem Yazgan
• Ukraine - Igor Posypaiko
• United Kingdom - Fearne Cotton

References

• Eurovision Record Book

Map

     Participating countries     Countries which took part in the semi-final but did not progress to the final     Countries who have participated in the past but did not this year

External links

• Official Greek Host website
• Official Eurovision Website - Audio and video clips available in the Multimedia Lounge