42 Helsinki

Welcome to Helsinki
"A quirky Adventure"

Finland's largest and most populated metropolis, the maritime town of Helsinki boasts varied architecture, a lively cafe culture, and plethora of picturesque natural delights. The city is strongly influenced by its geography, and understandably so. Not only is it located on a peninsula, but it spans over 300 islands. Its close proximity to both eastern and western major cities has also played a strong part in the capital's history, cityscape, and culture. Much of the activity here centers around the Baltic Sea, with tourists and locals alike enjoying boat trips, fishing, and simply watching the activity of the bustling harbor. In addition to its relationship with the water, Helsinki is famed for its architectural offerings, which include fine examples of Modernism, Functionalism, and Art Nouveau.

Host City / Helsinki, Finland
Venue / Hartwall Arena
Hosts / Marion Rung and Ville Valo

Participating countries / 31
Debuting countries / None
Returning countries / Colombia, Hungary and Portugal
Withdrawing countries / Japan, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia and Malta

Debuting players / David for Colombia

Returning Artists

Juanes / once for Colombia, Canada and Portugal / his best result being 5th

Carlos Baute / for Venezuela / placing 19th
David Bisbal / for Spain / Bronze Medallist
Eros Ramazzotti / for Italy / placing 8th
Funky G / for Bosnia-Herzegovina / Bronze Medallist
Julieta Venegas / for Argentina / placing 17th
Lab / for Finland / placing 23rd
Maya Bouskilla / for Israel / placing 5th
Murat Boz / for Turkey / Global Music Champion
Mylène Farmer / for France / Bronze Medallist
Petra Berger / for Netherlands / placing 7th

The Result

Countries receiving most 12 points / Cyprus, 4
Countries giving 12 points to the winner / Italy, France, Romania and Argentina
Countries receiving points from most juries / Turkey, 21
Highest placing country not scoring a top mark / Denmark in 9th place with 10 points from Norway and Monaco as highest marks
Lowest placing country scoring a top mark / Iceland in 23rd place getting 12 points from Australia

An exciting voting procedure gave us a new leader with almost every single jury with Netherlands and Cyprus taking turns in the lead for the most part. Towards the end Turkey came on strongly, taking the lead, but in the end Cyprus pushed ahead to take the gold medal on their debut. Turkey won the silver and Netherands took home the bronze medal. United Kingdom and Norway rounded out the top 5.

There is no better way to debut than this! It was Cyprus' first participation, but their artist, Anna Vissi, took the Global Music stage for the third time, having previously finished 9th twice for Greece. Well done Cyprus, Anna Vissi and new player Konstantinos!