MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Eurovision Song Contest

The winner of last year's Eurovision Song Contest was Russia, which took the top prize with Dima Bilan's "Believe" which beat out more than 20 other competitors.

In 2009, it was Russia's turn to host the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, with semi-finals airing May 12 - 14 and the final on May 16, 2009 live from Moscow.

Top favorites this year included the Turkish entry "Dum Tek Tek" by pop singer Hadise, along with Norway's "Fairytale" by singer/violinist Alexander Rybak. From Greece, Sakis Rouvas was another good bet to win with "This Is Our Night".

But it was popular favorite Alexander Rybak's "Fairytale" which won the night! — so see you next year as the 2010 Eurovision contest airs in Norway from its capital in Oslo.

Notable Winners

Shaking up the Eurovision stage in 2006 was heavy metal Finnish band Lordi - and its chain saw wielding lead singer - who were the surprise winners with "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

Other Eurovision winners of the past include ABBA (Sweden) and Celine Dion (Switzerland) who have used the contest as a solid launching pad to international stardom.

More notable appearances have included Cliff Richard, Julio Inglesias, and Olivia Newton John, who represented the UK in 1974 (she finished fourth).

Elsewhere on the Web, surf around for further facts & information with background info on past winners, official rules & point system, participant profiles, pictures & video clips, plus news, gossip & predictions on the road to this year's Eurovision Song Contest ....

Eurovision Song Contest - The official English language site featuring the latest news, participant list, artist profiles, pictures, fully archived 2006 and 2007 presentations plus a comprehensive history of the contest dating back to 1956.

Eurovision Song Contest - Wikipedia's extensive overview with an explanation of the voting rules & point system, background history, trivia, notable Eurovision stars, most wins by country, links to further info, and a huge list of related fan sites.

Eurosong - News & gossip central with reports from all over Europe and the UK leading up to the final with pictures, video clips, searchable database of past winners, community forum.

The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Homepage - Major fan site with the latest news, upcoming event calendar & timeline, brief history, contest & picture archive.

Eurovision Winner - How to Win the Eurovision Song Contest - Complete instructions including what sex you should be (female, pretty), voice range (strong, with falsetto notes), song type (upbeat, in English).

A-Z of Eurovision - Every strange & funny tidbit you ever wanted to know in this mini-encyclopedia of Eurovision trivia from BBC 2 Radio.

also see -> Eurovision Dance Contest | MTV Europe Music Awards

Cannes Film Festival | BAFTA Awards | World Music Awards