Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the 2008 contest with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and television presenter Andrey Malahov, while the final was presented by Russian television presenter Ivan Urgant and former Russian contestant Alsou Abramova, becoming the first and so far only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals.
Forty-two countries participated in the contest - down one from the record forty-three the year before. Slovakia returned to the contest for the first time since 1998, while San Marino did not enter due to financial issues. Latvia and Georgia originally announced their intention not to participate, but it was later stated by the EBU that both countries would indeed participate.[2] However, Georgia later decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of the contest rules.
The winner was Norway with the song "Fairytale", performed and written by Alexander Rybak. The song received a record-breaking 387 points out of 492, at the time the highest total score in the history of the contest. Iceland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the United Kingdom rounded out the top five, with the latter achieving their best placing since 2002. Iceland's second-place finish was the country's best placing in a decade.
After criticism of the voting system in 2007, changes in the voting procedure were finally made prior to this contest, with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting for the final, while the format of the semi-finals remained the same.
The contest was held in Russia following its victory in the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, with Dima Bilan's "Believe".[3] Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, stated that the contest would be held in Moscow.[4]
It was proposed by Channel One that the contest be held in Moscow's Olimpiysky Arena, and this proposal was evaluated by the EBU and confirmed on 13 September 2008.[4][5] The Director-General of the venue, Vladimir Churilin, refuted rumours of emergency reconstruction of the building, saying: "It will not be required for the Eurovision Song Contest. We now can take up to 25 thousand spectators."[6]
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