Australia moves closer to Europe, Sweden wins over Russia and Greece ends up on rank 19.
The 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest took place yesterday in Vienna, Austria. Eurovision is the longest running annual TV song competition held, primarily, among the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956.
What in the world’s name was Australia doing in an European competition?
Fans of the show were surprised to see Australia taking part in the competition due to the fact that, as The Telegraph notes: “Australia is not, traditionally, in Europe. Or factually. Or even metaphorically. In fact, is it the furthest possible country from Europe?”
For the first time in the history of the contest, Australia was invited to compete as a special guest participant in recognition of the event’s popularity among Australians. The show has been televised in Australia by the public broadcaster SBS for over thirty years. In the past, many Australian artists participated as representatives of other European countries.
As expected, that didn’t stop internet users posting images like this in their social media profiles:
The new map of Europe
Another user tweeted: “Next year, the Chinese want in”.
Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw wins, beating Russia and Italy
Last night’s winner of the finals was Måns Zelmerlöw from Sweden who picked up the trophy with 365 points. Sweden wins the contest for the sixth time.
In second place was Polina Gagarina from Russia with A Million Voices and 303 points.
In third place was Il Volo from Italy with Grande Amore and 292 points.
Greece with a sentimental ballad on 19th rank
This year’s contestant for Greece was Cyprus born and 2014 Voice of Greece winner, Maria Elena Kyriakou.
Kyriakou stated that her song, which she co-wrote “in a period of my life that was very intense emotionally…”. She added also: “It’s a song about love, which I think is relevant to anyone and something that everyone connects to, but at the same time it is also a personal song for me because dealing with love and heartbreak has played a big role in my life. I think that people don’t expect that kind of song from Greece! I am very excited to bring something different for Greece and show that we have many types of music.”
Apparently, this wasn’t enough for the top tens.