Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following Ruslana's win at the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey with the song "Wild Dances". It was the first time Ukraine had hosted the contest - only 2 years after the country made its debut. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union and host broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine, the contest was held at the Palace of Sports, and consisted of a semi-final on 19 May, and the final on 21 May 2005. The two live shows were hosted by Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko.
Thirty-nine countries participated in the contest, three more than the previous record of thirty-six, that took part the year before. Bulgaria and Moldova made their first participation this year, while Hungary returned to the contest after their six-year absence, having last taken part in.
The winner was with the song "My Number One", performed by Helena Paparizou and written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou. This was Greece's first victory in the contest, in 31 years of participation. Malta, Romania, Israel and Latvia rounded out the top five. Malta equalled their best result from, while Romania achieved their best result in their Eurovision history. Unusually, all "Big Four" countries ended up as the "Last Four", all placing in the bottom four positions in the final.
Organizers hoped that by hosting Eurovision, it would boost Ukraine's image abroad and increase tourism, while the country's new government hoped that it would also give a modest boost to the long-term goal of acquiring European Union membership.
This was also the first edition to be broadcast in widescreen format.
Location
is the capital and largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper. The Palace of Sports, a multi-purpose indoor arena, was confirmed by officials as the host venue in September 2004. However, in order to host the contest, the facilities had been brought up to the standard required by the European Broadcasting Union.At the end of December 2004, work began on the renovation
of the hall, for which approximately 4 million francs were allocated. Renovation works were to be finished by 20 April, however, they were completed at the beginning of May. The arena could accommodate over 5,000 seated spectators. Additionally 2,000 press delegates were catered for.
Hotel rooms were scarce as the contest organisers asked the Ukrainian government to put a block on bookings they did not control themselves through official delegation allocations or tour packages: this led to many people's hotel bookings being cancelled.
Overview
The official logo of the contest remained the same from the 2004 contest with the country's flag in the heart being changed. Following Istanbul's 'Under The Same Sky', the slogan for the 2005 show was 'Awakening', which symbolised the awakening of the country and city ready to present itself to Europe. The postcards for the 2005 show illustrated Ukraine's culture and heritage along with a more modern and industrial side to the country.The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev were television presenter Maria "Masha" Efrosinina and DJ Pavlo "Pasha" Shylko. Previous winner Ruslana returned to the stage in Kiev to perform in the interval act and to interview the contestants backstage in the 'green room'. The famous Ukrainian boxers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko opened the televoting, while a special trophy was presented to the winner by Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushchenko.
Publicity
An official CD and DVD was released and a new introduction was an official pin set, which contains heart-shaped pins with the flags of all thirty-nine participating countries. The EBU also commissioned a book "The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History" by British/American author John Kennedy O'Connor to celebrate the contest's fiftieth anniversary. The book was presented on screen during the break between songs 12 and 13. The book was published in English, German, French, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and Finnish.During the semi final, there were a few sound faults, most notably during the Norwegian song, shortly after the intro and also during the Irish song. These were not fixed for the DVD release.
Incidents
2005 was no exception for scandals regarding the representatives from the countries participating. Germany's entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest rejected calls to quit after her producer admitted manipulating the country's pop charts with mass purchases of her single.Gracia Baur defended her producer David Brandes, also behind Swiss entry Vanilla Ninja, and said she would go to the finals in Kiev despite complaints from other German singers. Bulgaria's debut was overshadowed by a scandal. The song "Lorraine" by Kaffe was accused of plagiarism. The song sounded too similar to another one released by Ruslan Mainov in 2001. There were also problems in Malta with the electricity supply during the contest, so TV viewers were unable to watch their national selection from the very beginning. There was a controversy regarding the Turkish entry: TRT got a false jury which led to the victory of the song Gülseren, which the 2003 winner Sertab Erener said was not the best choice. There were similar controversies in Macedonia which led to an eventual victory for Martin Vučić. The Ukrainian song had to be changed because it would bring a political message to the people, and EBU stated that no politics could be involved in the contest. The entry for Serbia and Montenegro was also overshadowed by a scandal and an accusation of plagiarism. Portugal's entry, "Amar", had very poor sound quality, with the female singer's microphone failing many times on stage.
It is also notable that the programme lasted just short of 3.5 hours. This was mainly due to the extremely long voting procedure, where 39 countries voted, reading out every single score. Many people, including United Kingdom commentator Terry Wogan, noticed this and commented about the marathon-like voting procedure, when Russia voted he stated "How many more have we got to go? What time is it?". Because the show overran so badly, the EBU changed the way the votes were announced in 2006 into a much shorter method, where only the top 3 scores were read out.
Ruslana was also intended to be a presenter for the show, but was pulled out before the contest for numerous reasons, including her poor English skills. She opened the contest, and did do a few brief interviews in the green room at a few different stages in the event.
In the semifinal, the first qualifier was Hungary as shown on the card, but instead of showing Hungary's flag, it showed the Bulgarian flag accidentally.
Participating countries
Thirty-nine countries participated in the 2005 Contest. Hungary returned to the contest after a six-year absence, last competing in 1998. Bulgaria and Moldova competed in the contest for the first time.Returning artists
represented Cyprus for the third time, having previously represented the nation at the 1996 contest as a solo artist and at the 2002 contest as part of the group One. Helena Paparizou previously represented Greece in 2001 as part of the duo Antique. Selma previously represented Iceland in 1999. Chiara previously represented Malta in 1998, and would return again in 2009. Anabel Conde, who represented Spain in 1995, returned as a backing vocalist for Andorra.Results
Semi-final
The semi-final was held on 19 May 2005 at 21:00. 25 countries performed and all 39 participants voted.Shaded countries qualified for the Eurovision Final
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Place | Points |
| 01 | Global.Kryner | "Y así" | English, Spanish | 21 | 30 | |
| 02 | Laura & The Lovers | "Little by Little" | English | 25 | 17 | |
| 03 | 2B | "Amar" | Portuguese, English | 17 | 51 | |
| 04 | Zdob și Zdub | "Boonika bate doba" | English, Romanian | 2 | 207 | |
| 05 | Walters & Kazha | "The War Is Not Over" | English | 10 | 85 | |
| 06 | Lise Darly | "Tout de moi" | French | 24 | 22 | |
| 07 | Shiri Maimon | "Hasheket Shenish'ar" | Hebrew, English | 7 | 158 | |
| 08 | Angelica Agurbash | "Love Me Tonight" | English | 13 | 67 | |
| 09 | Glennis Grace | "My Impossible Dream" | English | 14 | 53 | |
| 10 | Selma | "If I Had Your Love" | English | 16 | 52 | |
| 11 | Nuno Resende | "Le grand soir" | French | 22 | 29 | |
| 12 | Suntribe | "Let's Get Loud" | English | 20 | 31 | |
| 13 | Wig Wam | "In My Dreams" | English | 6 | 164 | |
| 14 | Luminița Anghel & Sistem | "Let Me Try" | English | 1 | 235 | |
| 15 | NOX | "Forogj, világ!" | Hungarian | 5 | 167 | |
| 16 | Geir Rönning | "Why?" | English | 18 | 50 | |
| 17 | Martin Vučić | "Make My Day" | English | 9 | 97 | |
| 18 | Marian van de Wal | "La mirada interior" | Catalan | 23 | 27 | |
| 19 | Vanilla Ninja | "Cool Vibes" | English | 8 | 114 | |
| 20 | Boris Novković feat. Lado Members | "Vukovi umiru sami" | Croatian | 4 | 169 | |
| 21 | Kaffe | "Lorraine" | English | 19 | 49 | |
| 22 | Donna and Joe | "Love?" | English | 14 | 53 | |
| 23 | Omar Naber | "Stop" | Slovene | 12 | 69 | |
| 24 | Jakob Sveistrup | "Talking to You" | English | 3 | 185 | |
| 25 | Ivan & Delfin | "Czarna dziewczyna" | Polish, Russian | 11 | 81 |
Final
The finalists were:- the four automatic qualifiers France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom;
- the top 10 countries from the 2004 final ;
- the top 10 countries from the 2005 semi-final.
Countries in bold automatically qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Final.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Place | Points |
| 01 | NOX | "Forogj, világ!" | Hungarian | 12 | 97 | |
| 02 | ' | Javine | "Touch My Fire" | English | 22 | 18 |
| 03 | ' | Chiara | "Angel" | English | 2 | 192 |
| 04 | ' | Luminița Anghel & Sistem | "Let Me Try" | English | 3 | 158 |
| 05 | ' | Wig Wam | "In My Dreams" | English | 9 | 125 |
| 06 | Gülseren | "Rimi Rimi Ley" | Turkish | 13 | 92 | |
| 07 | ' | Zdob și Zdub | "Boonika bate doba" | English, Romanian | 6 | 148 |
| 08 | Ledina Çelo | "Tomorrow I Go" | English | 16 | 53 | |
| 09 | Constantinos Christoforou | "Ela Ela" | English | 18 | 46 | |
| 10 | ' | Son de Sol | "Brujería" | Spanish | 21 | 28 |
| 11 | ' | Shiri Maimon | "Hasheket Shenish'ar" | Hebrew, English | 4 | 154 |
| 12 | ' | No Name | "Zauvijek moja" | Serbian | 7 | 137 |
| 13 | ' | Jakob Sveistrup | "Talking to You" | English | 9 | 125 |
| 14 | Martin Stenmarck | "Las Vegas" | English | 19 | 30 | |
| 15 | Martin Vučić | "Make My Day" | English | 17 | 52 | |
| 16 | GreenJolly | "Razom nas bahato" | Ukrainian, English | 19 | 30 | |
| 17 | ' | Gracia | "Run and Hide" | English | 24 | 4 |
| 18 | Boris Novković feat. Lado Members | "Vukovi umiru sami" | Croatian | 11 | 115 | |
| 19 | Helena Paparizou | "My Number One" | English | 1 | 230 | |
| 20 | Natalia Podolskaya | "Nobody Hurt No One" | English | 15 | 57 | |
| 21 | Feminnem | "Call Me" | English | 14 | 79 | |
| 22 | ' | Vanilla Ninja | "Cool Vibes" | English | 8 | 128 |
| 23 | ' | Walters & Kazha | "The War Is Not Over" | English | 5 | 153 |
| 24 | Ortal | "Chacun pense à soi" | French | 23 | 11 |
Notes
Scoreboard
The EBU introduced an undisclosed threshold number of televotes that would have to be registered in each voting country in order to make that country's votes valid. If that number was not reached, the country's backup jury would vote instead. In the semi-final this affected Monaco, Andorra and Albania, and Andorra, Monaco and Moldova in the final.Semi-final
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the semi-final:| N. | Contestant | Voting nation |
| 6 | Romania | Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Moldova, Spain |
| 5 | Croatia | Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia |
| 4 | - | - |
| 4 | Denmark | Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden |
| 4 | Moldova | Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine |
| 3 | - | - |
| 3 | Israel | Andorra, Belarus, Monaco |
| 3 | Norway | Denmark, Finland, Iceland |
| 3 | Portugal | France, Germany, Switzerland |
| 2 | - | - |
| 2 | Latvia | Lithuania, Malta |
| 2 | Macedonia | Albania, Croatia |
| 1 | - | - |
| 1 | Belarus | Bulgaria |
| 1 | Belgium | Portugal |
| 1 | Estonia | Latvia |
| 1 | Hungary | Poland |
| 1 | Ireland | United Kingdom |
| 1 | Netherlands | Belgium |
| 1 | Switzerland | Estonia |
Final
12 points
Below is a summary of all 12 points in the final:| N. | Contestant | Voting nation |
| 10 | Greece | Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom |
| 3 | Latvia | Ireland, Lithuania, Moldova |
| 3 | Norway | Denmark, Finland, Iceland |
| 3 | Romania | Israel, Spain, Portugal |
| 3 | Serbia and Montenegro | Austria, Croatia, Switzerland |
| 2 | Croatia | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia |
| 2 | Cyprus | Greece, Malta |
| 2 | Moldova | Romania, Ukraine |
| 2 | Switzerland | Estonia, Latvia |
| 2 | Turkey | France, Netherlands |
| 1 | Albania | Macedonia |
| 1 | Denmark | Norway |
| 1 | Israel | Monaco |
| 1 | Malta | Russia |
| 1 | Russia | Belarus |
| 1 | Spain | Andorra |
| 1 | Ukraine | Poland |
Other countries
- – Czech broadcaster Česká televize initially applied to participate in the 2005 Contest, however, the broadcaster reconsidered débuting in the contest and later withdrew their application on 3 December 2004.
- – Lebanese broadcaster Télé Liban confirmed Lebanon's début in the contest and selected the song "Quand tout s'enfuit" performed by Aline Lahoud as their entry. However, the broadcaster announced their withdrawal from the competition on 18 March 2005 after the EBU informed them that the rules of the competition require them to broadcast the Israeli entry during the live show and enable viewers to vote for the nation, which contravened a Lebanese law prohibiting any acknowledgement of Israel. As the withdrawal period for the contest had passed, Télé Liban forfeited the return of their participation fee and potentially faced further fines from the EBU.
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
The Marcel Bezençon Awards were first handed out during the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia honoringthe best competing songs in the final. Founded by Christer Björkman and Richard Herrey, the awards are named after the creator of the annual competition, Marcel Bezençon. The awards are divided into 3 categories; Press Award; Artistic Award; and Composer Award.
| Category | Country | Song | Performer | Composer | Final result | Points |
| Artists Award | "My Number One" | Helena Paparizou | Christos Dantis Natalia Germanou | 1st | 230 | |
| Composer Award | "Zauvijek moja" | No Name | Slaven Knezović Milan Perić | 7th | 137 | |
| Press Award | "Angel" | Chiara | Chiara Siracusa | 2nd | 192 |
Barbara Dex Award
The Barbara Dex Award has been annually awarded by the fan website House of Eurovision since 1997, and is a humorous award given to the worst dressed artist each year in the contest. It is named after the Belgian artist, Barbara Dex, who came last in the 1993 contest, in which she wore her own self designed dress.| Place | Country | Performer | Votes |
| 1 | Martin Vučić | 42 | |
| 2 | Selma | 39 | |
| 3 | 2B | 34 | |
| 4 | Wig Wam | 29 | |
| 5 | Angelica Agurbash | 21 |
International broadcasts and voting
Voting and spokespersons
The order in which each country announced their votes was compiled by placing the countries that failed to qualify from the semi-final first in the running order they performed in during the semi-final, followed by the finalists which voted in the order they performed in during the final. The spokespersons are shown alongside each country.Commentators
Participating countries
- – Leon Menkshi
- – Meri Picart and Josep Lluís Trabal
- – Andi Knoll and Martin Blumenau
- – Denis Kurian
- – French: Jean-Pierre Hautier, Patrick Duhamel and Carlo de Pascale, Dutch: André Vermeulen and Anja Daems, Julien Put and Michel Follet
- – Dejan Kukric
- – Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev
- – Zlatko Turkalj, Duško Čurlić
- – Evi Papamichail
- – Jørgen de Mylius
- – Marko Reikop
- – Finnish: Jaana Pelkonen, Heikki Paasonen and Asko Murtomäki, Sanna Kojo and Jorma Hietamäki, Swedish: Thomas Lundin
- – Julien Lepers and Guy Carlier, Peggy Olmi, Jean-Luc Delarue
- – Peter Urban, Thomas Mohr
- – Alexandra Pascalidou
- – Zsuzsa Demcsák, András Fáber and Dávid Szántó
- – Gísli Marteinn Baldursson
- – Marty Whelan,
- – No commentator
- – Kārlis Streips
- – Darius Užkuraitis
- – Milanka Rasic
- – Eileen Montesin
- – Vitalie Rotaru
- – Bernard Montiel and Génie Godula
- – Willem van Beusekom and Cornald Maas, Hijlco Span and Ron Stoeltie
- – Jostein Pedersen
- – Artur Orzech
- – Eládio Clímaco
- – Andreea Demirgian
- – Yuri Aksyuta and Yelena Batinova
- – Serbian: Duška Vučinić-Lučić, Montenegrin: Dražen Bauković, Tamara Ivanković and Danijel Popović ; Unknown
- – Mojca Mavec
- – Beatriz Pécker
- – Pekka Heino, Björn Kjellman and Carolina Norén
- – German: Sandra Studer, French: Jean-Marc Richard and Marie-Thérèse Porchet, Italian: Daniela Tami and Claudio Lazzarino
- – Bülend Özveren, Ümit Tunçağ and Canan Kumbasar
- – Yaroslav Chornenkyi, Galyna Babiy
- – Terry Wogan, Paddy O'Connell, Ken Bruce
Non-participating countries
- – Terry Wogan
Official album
The original cover designed for the album was changed after 's withdrawal from the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 after announcing they would show advertisements over the Israeli entry. Had they entered, they would have been on track 4, disc 2 with the song "Quand tout s'enfuit" by Aline Lahoud.
It was reported that sales of the 2005 Eurovision merchandise reached record-breaking levels.