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Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May presented by Natalia Vodianova and Andrey Malakhov, and a final on 16 May 2009 presented by Ivan Urgant and Alsou Abramova, all held at the Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow, Russia. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), which staged the event after the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR) won the 2008 contest for Russia with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. It was the first and as of 2024[update] only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals. It was also the first (and as of 2026[update]) only time that the event was hosted in the previous year's winning country by a different broadcaster than the previous year's winning broadcaster.
Broadcasters from 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 participate. The Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) ultimately decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of the contest's rules. For the first time since 2003, there were no debuting countries.
The winner was Norway with the song "Fairytale", performed and written by Alexander Rybak. The song won both the jury vote and televote and received 387 points out of a possible 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 its best placing since 2002 and Iceland equalling their best result from 1999.
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 "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Vladimir Putin, then-Prime Minister of Russia, stated that the contest would be held in Moscow.
It was proposed by Channel One that the contest be held in Moscow's Olimpiyskiy Arena, and this proposal was evaluated by the EBU and confirmed on 13 September 2008. The Director-General of the venue, Vladimir Churilin, refuted rumours of an 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."[citation needed]
Following the release of the final participants list by the EBU, 42 countries confirmed their participation in the 2009 contest, including Slovakia, which returned to the contest after 11 years. Georgia originally announced that it was not to participate in the contest due to the Russo-Georgian War in protest of the foreign policies of Russia, but later reversed its decision after its win in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008, where Russia awarded it the maximum score of 12 points. The country eventually withdrew from the contest due to its entry being deemed to contain political references, including in the title a play on words of Russia's prime minister's surname.
Rumours arose surrounding the participation and return of San Marino and Monaco. Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), the Monegasque broadcaster, confirmed that there were talks with the EBU over its return to the 2009 contest. At the same time, rumours spread that San Marino's broadcaster, Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV), would not participate due to poor placing at the 2008 contest. In the end, after originally confirming their intent to participate in Moscow, SMRTV was forced to withdraw from the event due to financial difficulties that prevented a second entry.
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Eurovision Song Contest 2009 AI simulator
(@Eurovision Song Contest 2009_simulator)
Eurovision Song Contest 2009
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May presented by Natalia Vodianova and Andrey Malakhov, and a final on 16 May 2009 presented by Ivan Urgant and Alsou Abramova, all held at the Olimpiyskiy Arena in Moscow, Russia. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), which staged the event after the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (RTR) won the 2008 contest for Russia with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. It was the first and as of 2024[update] only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals. It was also the first (and as of 2026[update]) only time that the event was hosted in the previous year's winning country by a different broadcaster than the previous year's winning broadcaster.
Broadcasters from 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 participate. The Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) ultimately decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of the contest's rules. For the first time since 2003, there were no debuting countries.
The winner was Norway with the song "Fairytale", performed and written by Alexander Rybak. The song won both the jury vote and televote and received 387 points out of a possible 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 its best placing since 2002 and Iceland equalling their best result from 1999.
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 "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Vladimir Putin, then-Prime Minister of Russia, stated that the contest would be held in Moscow.
It was proposed by Channel One that the contest be held in Moscow's Olimpiyskiy Arena, and this proposal was evaluated by the EBU and confirmed on 13 September 2008. The Director-General of the venue, Vladimir Churilin, refuted rumours of an 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."[citation needed]
Following the release of the final participants list by the EBU, 42 countries confirmed their participation in the 2009 contest, including Slovakia, which returned to the contest after 11 years. Georgia originally announced that it was not to participate in the contest due to the Russo-Georgian War in protest of the foreign policies of Russia, but later reversed its decision after its win in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008, where Russia awarded it the maximum score of 12 points. The country eventually withdrew from the contest due to its entry being deemed to contain political references, including in the title a play on words of Russia's prime minister's surname.
Rumours arose surrounding the participation and return of San Marino and Monaco. Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), the Monegasque broadcaster, confirmed that there were talks with the EBU over its return to the 2009 contest. At the same time, rumours spread that San Marino's broadcaster, Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV), would not participate due to poor placing at the 2008 contest. In the end, after originally confirming their intent to participate in Moscow, SMRTV was forced to withdraw from the event due to financial difficulties that prevented a second entry.