The brightest winners in the history of Eurovision. Russian participants of "Eurovision" in the history of the contest. Dossier First places at Eurovision in the last 10

Russia has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1994. In 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2017 Russian singers did not participate in the final of the competition.

In 1996, due to the excess of the number of countries, the organizers had to conduct an additional selection, and the Russian Andrei Kosinsky did not pass it. Two years later, Russia was not among the participants in the competition according to the rating determined by the results of previous years. In 1999, Russia found itself out of Eurovision, as a year earlier it decided not to broadcast the contest live due to the absence of a Russian representative, and according to Eurovision rules, such a broadcast is mandatory.

In 2017, at Eurovision in Kyiv (Ukraine), Yulia Samoilova was supposed to represent Russia with the song Flame Is Burning. However, the Security Service of Ukraine banned her from entering the country for three years because of her speech in Crimea.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) suggested that Russia either broadcast the competition via satellite or change the contestant. On the Russian First Channel, they said that they consider these options unacceptable and in the current situation the channel does not consider it possible to broadcast the competition. The EBU stated that Russia had refused the proposed alternatives.

The first Russian participant in the international television contest "Eurovision", which was held in Dublin (Ireland), was in 1994 Maria Katz under the pseudonym "Judith". With the song "Eternal wanderer" she took ninth place out of 25.

Maria Katz was born on January 23, 1973 in Moscow. Russian singer, sang in the musical groups "Quarter", "League of Blues", "Maryland", was a backing vocalist for many famous Russian performers. Laureate of the title "Voice of Russia". Soloist of the group Balls of fire. Founder of the recording company "Hit Start". The characters of Russian versions of Hollywood films (the musical "Chicago") and cartoons ("Anastasia", "Rapunzel") sing in the voice of Mary, she voices commercials.

Philip Kirkorov was born on April 30, 1967 in Varna. Multiple winner of the "Ovation", "Golden Gramophone", "MUZ-TV", "Stopudovy Hit" awards, World Music Awards, as the most popular performer in Russia, laureate of the annual festival "Song of the Year". He was awarded the Kinotavr film festival award in the Best Actor nomination.

Currently, Philip Kirkorov produces artists and groups and performs with his own concert programs.
In 2009 Philip Kirkorov was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place in Moscow.

In 1997, Alla Pugacheva took part in the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on May 3 in Dublin (Ireland). She placed 15th out of 25.

Alla Pugacheva was born on April 15, 1949 in Moscow. Soviet and Russian pop singer, People's Artist of the USSR (1991), laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1995). Over the years of her creative activity, Alla Pugacheva has created many concert programs. Along with an active concert activity, she took part in dozens of prestigious festivals and song contests, both as a participant and as a jury member. Pugacheva is the owner of a unique collection of titles, prizes and awards. The Cambridge International Biographical Center awarded her the 2000 Outstanding Musicians of the 20th Century Personalized Medal.

In 2000, Alsu represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was held in Stockholm (Sweden). Alsou performed the song in English Solo and became the first Russian singer to take second place in the competition.

Alsu (Alsu Abramova, maiden name - Safina) was born on June 27, 1983. Alsou's musical career began in 1998, when the singer was 15 years old. The song "Winter Dream" brought her great popularity. The singer's discography includes several albums, including "Alsu" (1999), Alsou (in English, 2001), "I Dreamed of Autumn" (2002), "19" (2003), "The Most Important" (2008), "Native Speech" (), "Letters that came from the war" (), etc.

In 2001, Mumiy Troll represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was held on May 12, 2001 in Copenhagen (Denmark). With the song Lady alpine blue, the group took 12th place. Mumiy Troll is a Russian rock band from Vladivostok. Formed in 1983. Songwriter, vocalist and leader of the group - Ilya Lagutenko. The style of the Lagutenko group. The group is the owner of the Ovation, Golden Gramophone, FUZZ, MTV Russia Music Awards, MUZ-TV awards, etc. Its discography includes more than 10 studio albums, including Polar Bear (2010), Rare Lands ( 2010), Vladivostok (2012), Hey Tovarish! (2012), "Mumikam from Trolls. Sleep, rock and roll" (2012), Malibu Alibi (2016), "EAST X NORTHWEST" () and others.

In 2002, Russia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest by the Prime Minister Quartet. The contest was held on May 25, 2002 in Tallinn (Estonia). The group sang an English version of Kim Breitburg's song with lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan Northern Girl ("Girl from the North") and took 10th place among 24 contestants.

The Prime Minister group was formed in early 1998 by producer Evgeny Fridlyand and sound producer Kim Breitburg. Since 2005, the team has been called "PM Group". The group consists of Jean Milimerov, Marat Chanyshev and Pete Samuel Jason.

In 2003, the Russian group t.A.T.u. became the third at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Do not believe, do not be afraid, do not ask". The contest was held on May 24, 2003 in Riga (Latvia).

The Tatu project was created in 1999 by screenwriter and director Ivan Shapovalov, two 15-year-old schoolgirls Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova were selected as participants. The song "I'm crazy" debuted on the radio in 2000 and for several months took first place in the charts of radio stations. On May 15, 2002, the Russian pop duo "Tatu" received the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for one million copies of the album "200 in the opposite direction" sold in Europe.

In November 2002, the group, which from that time became known as t.A.T.u., took part in the European Music Awards, presenting the Best Dance Video nomination and performed the hit All the Things She Said live. After this event, the group received worldwide recognition. In 2003, after participating in the Eurovision Song Contest, Volkova and Katina broke off the contract with Ivan Shapovalov and began producing themselves, releasing two albums - Disabled People (2005) and Waste Management (2007). In 2009, the girls announced that they were planning to start solo careers. In April 2013, the group's first concert after the breakup took place. In February 2014, the girls at the pre-party of the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

In 2004, Yulia Savicheva took 11th place at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Believe Me. The competition was held on May 15, 2004 in Istanbul (Turkey).

Yulia Savicheva was born on February 14, 1987. In 2003 she took part in the project "Star Factory-2". Her songs regularly became hits: "Ships", "High", "Sorry for Love". The year 2004 was marked by Yulia's participation in several international competitions at once, where she represented Russia. In addition to Eurovision in 2004, she performed at the World Best competition and took 8th place. The singer's discography includes the albums Believe Me (2004), "High" (2005), "If Love Lives in the Heart" (2005), "Magnet" (2006), "Origami" () and others.

In 2005, Russia at Eurovision was represented by Natalia Podolskaya with Viktor Drobysh's song Nobody hurt no one. The final of the competition was held on May 21, 2005 in Kyiv (Ukraine). At the competition, Natalia took 15th place.

Natalya Podolskaya was born on May 20, 1982. In 2004, she became one of the brightest participants in the Star Factory-5 project, the music producer of which was Alla Pugacheva. At the end of the project, Natalia became one of the winners of "Star Factory-5" and the only singer who released her solo album "Late" (2004) as part of the project.

In 2006, Russia was represented at the competition by Dima Bilan, who took second place with the song Never Let You Go. The final of the competition took place on May 20, 2006 in Athens (Greece).

The Silver group, formed in 2006, is a project of Channel One producer Maxim Fadeev. In 2009 the band's debut album "OpiumRoz" was released. Currently, the members of the group are Olga Seryabkina, Ekaterina Kishchuk and Tatyana Morgunova. Among the group's awards are the Golden Gramophone and Breakthrough of the Year awards.

In 2008, Dima Bilan took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time. The competition was held on May 24, 2008 in Belgrade (Serbia). With the song Believe, with which Bilan and the Hungarian violinist Edwin Marton, he took first place.

In 2009, Anastasia Prikhodko represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Mamo", she took 11th place. The final of the competition was held on May 16, 2009 at the Olimpiysky sports complex in Moscow.

Anastasia Prikhodko is a Ukrainian and Russian pop folk singer. She was born on April 21, 1987 in Kyiv. She gained fame after winning the show of the First Channel "Star Factory-7".

In 2010, at Eurovision, Russia was represented by the Musical Group of Peter Nalich with the song Lost and Forgotten. The final of the song contest "Eurovision" was held on the night of May 30 in Oslo (Norway). Petr Nalich and his group with 90 points based on the results of the audience voting and the decision of the professional jury. The "Peter Nalich Band", made famous in 2007 by the Guitar video on YouTube, consists of Petr Nalich himself, who is a songwriter, vocalist, pianist, accordionist and guitarist; Sergei Sokolov playing acoustic guitar and domra; Konstantin Shvetsov, who plays the electric guitar, as well as saxophonist, vocalist Yury Kostenko; keyboardist Oscar Chuntonov; bass guitarist Dmitry Simonov and drummer Igor Javad-Zade. The group has several albums on its account - "The Joy of Simple Melodies", "Merry Baburi", "Goldfish", "Songs of Love and Motherland", etc.

In 2011, Alexei Vorobyov represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song Get You. The final of the competition was held on May 14 in Düsseldorf (Germany).

Alexey Vorobyov was born in 1988 in Tula. In 2005, he In 2007, he received the "Opening MTV-2007" award at the MTV Russia Music Awards. The song for the Russian Eurovision participant was written by RedOne, the author of Lady Gaga's hits and the official melody of the 2006 World Cup, collaborating with Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and other world stars. In recent years, as an actor, Vorobyov starred in the films and TV series "Treasures of O.K." (2013), "Three Musketeers" (2013), Ekaterina (2014), "Guest performers" (2015), "Get up and fight" (), etc.

In 2012, the Buranovskiye Babushki band represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Party for Everybody, which took second place. The final of the competition was held on May 26 in Baku (Azerbaijan). The ensemble "Buranovskiye Babushki" was created in the village of the same name Buranovo, Udmurtia, more than 40 years ago. The average age of the team members is 70 years old, the repertoire is based on. The ensemble also became famous for performing modern hits in Udmurt, Russian and English. Since the end of 2014, "Buranovskiye Babushki" have been performing under the name "Brangurt Pesyanayes", which means "Grandmothers from the village of Buranovo" in Udmurt.

In 2013, at the Eurovision Song Contest, the final of which was held on May 18 in the Swedish city of Malmö, Russia was represented by singer Dina Garipova. The lyrical composition What if, performed by Garipova, took fifth place.

Dina Garipova was born on March 25, 1991 in Zelenodolsk (Tatarstan). From the age of six she studied vocals at the Zelenodolsk Song Theater "Golden Microphone". Graduated from Kazan Federal University with a degree in journalism. In December 2012, she won the TV project of the First Channel "Voice". After that, she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan. In February 2013, Garipova with the Russian branch of the record company Universal Music Group.

This year Russia for the entire history of participation in the music competition. Russia has been sending the most talented singers to the show since 1994, and the competition itself appeared in 1956. Let's remember all the participants in the popular competition from Russia, you might have forgotten many of them.

Masha Katz, 1994

In Ireland, Masha performed her own ballad "The Eternal Wanderer" in English and Russian. She took 9th place. In 1999, her song was recognized as one of the ten best in the history of the competition.

Philip Kirkorov, 1997

The following year, Philip Bedrosovich went to the competition. He sang "Lullaby for the Volcano" and placed 17th.

Alla Pugacheva, 1997

In 1996, Russia did not send its participants to the competition. But already in 1997 Alla Pugacheva went to represent our country. The prima donna took 15th place.

Alsou, 2000

After the performance of Alla Borisovna, Russia did not appear at the competition for several more years. In 2000, Alsou went to represent the country. In Stockholm, the young singer took second place.

"Mumiy Troll", 2001

In Copenhagen, our country was represented by the Mumiy Troll group with the song "Lady Alpine Blue". Unfortunately, it was not possible to enter the top ten, Russia took 12th place.

"Prime Minister", 2002

The group "Prime Minister" went to Tallinn from Russia, where they took 10th place with the song "Northern Girl".

t.A.T.u, 2003

The group t.A.T.u successfully represented the country at Eurovision, only a few points separated Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova from the first place. The girls sang the song "Do not believe, do not be afraid." As a result, the group took 3rd place.

Julia Savicheva, 2004

Yulia Savicheva performed the song "Believe me" in Istanbul. The young singer took 11th place.

Natalia Podolskaya, 2005

In 2005 the competition was held in Kyiv. Participant from Russia Natalia Podolskaya performed the song "Nobody hurt no one" and took 15th place.

Dima Bilan, 2006

In 2006, Dima Bilan lost first place to the Finnish band Lordi at Eurovision in Athens. He performed the song "Never Let You Go" and took second place.

"Silver", 2007

In Helsinki, the trio performed the song "Song #1". The girls took third place.

Dima Bilan, 2008

Two years after the first performance, Dima Bilan again went to the competition. In Belgrade, he took first place with the song "Believe". It was Russia's first victory at Eurovision.

Anastasia Prikhodko, 2009

In 2009 the competition was held in Moscow. Our country was represented by Anastasia Prikhodko with the song "Mamo". The girl took 11th place and received a lot of negative feedback from the audience.

Musical group of Peter Nalich, 2010

In Oslo, the team of Peter Nalich performed from Russia with the song "Lost and Forgotten". In the final of the competition, the group took 11th place.

Alexey Vorobyov, 2011

Alexei Vorobyov went to Dusseldorf with the song "Get You". Only Philip Kirkorov performed worse than Vorobyov at the competition. Alexey took 16th place.

"Buranovskiye Babushki", 2012

"Buranovskiye Babushki" captivated the audience of the competition with their performance with the song "Party for Everybody". The team took second place with 259 points.

Dina Garipova, 2013

Sisters Tolmacheva, 2014

Philip Kirkorov's wards, the Tolmachev sisters, represented Russia in Copenhagen. With the song "Shine", the girls finished in 7th place, but were booed by the audience due to the political situation.

Polina Gagarina, 2015

Polina Gagarina represented Russia in the final of the competition in Vienna. The touching song "A Million Voices" won the hearts of the audience, the girl took 2nd place.

Sergey Lazarev, 2016

This time Eurovision was again held in Stockholm, our country was represented by Sergey Lazarev with the song "You Are The Only One". The singer took 3rd place.

Julia Samoilova, 2018

Yulia was supposed to represent Russia in 2017 with the song "Flame Is Burning", but Ukraine banned the singer from entering the country. The organizers offered to organize a broadcast from Russia or change the participant. After the EBU announced that Russia could not participate in the competition.

This year, Yulia represented Russia again, but with a different song - “I won`t break”. For the first time, Russia did not qualify for the Eurovision final.

The Eurovision Song Contest has been held since 1956. Countries send young performers or artists already known in their home countries there. For example, for ABBA and Celine Dion, the competition was an important step in their careers. But popularity in one's own country does not guarantee a high place. In 1997, Alla Pugacheva represented Russia and took 15th place out of 25.

ABBA (Sweden) - winners 1974

Celine Dion (Switzerland) - winner 1988

The songs of the winners are often controversial. The vocal data of the victors are also in doubt. We offer to recall those who have won Eurovision since 1996. Which of these songs have you heard before?

1996
Winning Country: Ireland
Aimar Quinn - The Voice

1997
Winning Country: UK
Katrina and the Waves
Venue: Ireland, Dublin.

1998
Winning Country: Israel
Dana International - Diva
Venue: UK, Birmingham.

Dana's song was to the taste of the "king of remakes" Philip Kirkorov.

1999
Winning Country: Sweden
Charlotte Nielson - Take Me to Your Heaven
Venue - Israel, Jerusalem.

2000
Winning Country: Denmark
Olsen Brothers

2001
Winning country: Estonia
Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL - Everybody
Venue: Denmark, Copenhagen.

2002
Winning country: Latvia
Marie N
Venue: Estonia, Tallinn.

2003
Winning Country: Turkey
Sertab Erener - Everyway That I Can
Venue: Latvia, Riga.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2004
Winning Country: Ukraine
Ruslana - Wild Dances
Venue: Turkey, Istanbul.

Ruslana brought the first victory to her country. Everyone liked her "Wild Dances" except Switzerland, which did not give a single point for the song.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2005
Winning Country: Greece
Elena Paparizou - My Number One
Venue: Ukraine, Kyiv.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2006
Winning Country: Finland
Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah
Venue: Greece, Athens.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2007
Winning Country: Serbia
Maria Sherifovich - Prayer
Venue: Finland, Helsinki.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2008
Winning country: Russia
Dima Bilan - Believe
Venue: Serbia, Belgrade.

Dima Bilan won the second time. In 2006, he took 2nd place.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2009
Winning Country: Norway
Alexander Rybak - Fairytale
Venue: Russia, Moscow.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2010
Germany
Lena Meyer-Landrut - Satellite
Venue: Norway, Oslo.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2011
Winning country: Azerbaijan
Ell & Nikki Running - Scared
Venue: Germany, Dusseldorf.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2012
Winning Country: Sweden
Lauryn - Euphoria
Venue: Azerbaijan, Baku.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2013
Winning Country: Denmark
Emmy de Forest - Only Teardrops
Venue: Sweden, Malmö.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2014
Winning Country: Austria
Conchita Wurst - Rise Like a Phoenix
Venue: Denmark Copenhagen.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2015
Winning Country: Sweden
Mons Selmerlöw - Heroes
Venue: Austria, Vienna.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

2016
Winning Country: Ukraine
Jamal - 1944
Venue: Sweden, Stockholm.

Performance at the competition

Video clip

From 8 to 12 May 2018, the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest took place in Portugal. 42 countries took part in it. 37 contestants competed for the right to reach the final of the show through the semi-final system, while the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the representative of the host country of the competition, Portugal, entered the final automatically.

In the final, on May 12, 2018, 25 solo performers and musical groups competed for the main prize.

Eurovision 2018 final in Lisbon

Netta Barzilai scored 317 points from the viewers, which ensured her a landslide victory.

6 countries immediately got to the final.

1.UK/SuRie. 60 times the British participated in Eurovision, 5 times won: Sandy Shaw in 1967, Lulu in 1969, Brotherhood of Man in 1976, Bucks Fizz in 1981, Katrina and the Waves in 1997. Three times the British took the last places. Suzanne Marie Cork, aka SuRie, will perform the song "Storm". According to bookmakers, Sandy will notice a place in the second ten.

2. Germany/Michael Schulte. Germany is one of the seven countries that have taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest since the very first contest. The first Germans were only twice: in 1982 by Nicole and in 2010 by Lena Meyer-Landrut. Seven times the representatives of Germany were in last place. Michael Schulte will sing "You Let Me Walk Alone", but is unlikely to rise above 15th place.

3. Spain/Alfred & Amaya. Participates in the competition since 1961, was the winner for 2 years in a row: in 1968 - Massiel, in 1969 - Salome. Eight times the Spaniards were last. Alfred & Amaya will perform a song in Spanish "Tu canción" with which they can get into the top ten.

4. Italy/Ermal Meta & Fabrizio Moro. Participated in the competition 43 times, won twice. In 1964 Gigliola Cinquetti won, and in 1990 Toto Cutugno won with the song "Insieme: 1992". The Italians took the last place only once - in 1966. Duo Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro will perform the song in Italian "Non mi avete fatto niente". Bookmakers above 12 places do not give Italians.

5. Portugal/Claudia Pascoal. This country sent its representatives to the biggest song show in Europe 49 times. But the victory went to Salvador Sobral in 2017 in Kyiv, where he performed the song "Amar pelos dois" in Portuguese. Claudia Pascoal took part in the Portuguese music show "Ídolos", as well as "X Factor" finals and "Voice of the Country". Claudia will perform the song "O jardim" in Portuguese.

6. France/Madame Monsieur. Participants performed at Eurovision 60 times and won five times: André Claveux in 1958, Jacqueline Boyer in 1960, Isabelle Aubret in 1962, Frida Boccara in 1969, Marie Miriam in 1977. The last one was only once - in 2014. Madame Monsieur - a duet of vocalist Emily Sutt and producer Jean-Carl Lucá will perform the French-language single "Mercy". The chances of the French to win in Portugal are high, they are predicted to be second.

According to the results of the two semi-finals in the final of Eurovision 2018, in addition to the six above participants, there were:

1. Serbia: Sanja Ilic & Balkanika - Nova deca
2. Moldova: DoReDos - My Lucky Day
3. Romania: The Humans - Goodbye
4. Ukraine: MELOVIN - Under the Ladder
5. Sweden: Benjamin Ingrosso - Dance You Off
6. Australia: Jessica Mauboy - We Got Love
7. Norway: Alexander Rybak - That "S How You Write ASong
8. Denmark: Rasmussen - Higher Ground
9. Slovenia: Lea Sirk - Hvala, ne!
10. Netherlands: Waylon - Outlaw in "Em
11. Austria - Cesar Sempson "Nobody But You"
12. Estonia - Elina Nechaeva "La Forza"
13. Cyprus - Eleni Foureira "Fuego"
14. Lithuania - Eva Zasimauskaite "When We" re Old"
15. Israel - Netta Barzilai "Toy"
16. Czech Republic - Mykolas Josef "Lie to Me"
17. Bulgaria - EQUINOX "Bones"
18. Albania - Evgent Bushpepa "Mall"
19. Finland - Saara Aalto "Monsters"
20. Ireland - Ryan O'Shaughnessy "Together"

First semi-final at Eurovision 2018

Azerbaijan/Aysel Mammadova. The country has been participating in Eurovision since 2008. In 2011 in Düsseldorf, the duet Ell & Nikki won the competition with the song "Running Scared". In 2012 Eurovision was held in Baku. In just ten years of participation in the competition, Azerbaijan received 1359 points. The worst result, 22nd place, the representatives of Azerbaijan had in 2014. According to the forecasts of bookmakers, Aysel Mammadova does not get into the final this year.

Iceland/Ari Olavsson. The country has taken part in the competition 30 times since 1986, and only in 1998 and 2002 missed the song action. Twice the representatives of Iceland were one step away from victory. In 1999 through the efforts of Selma and in 2009 in Moscow thanks to Johanna. Iceland showed the worst result in 2005 - 16th place. Bookmakers are sure that Ari Olavsson will not reach the final.

Albania/Eugent Bushpepa. The country has been participating in the competition since 2004 and has never come close to winning. The best result was 5th place in 2012, and the worst performance was in 2007, 17th place. The representative of Albania is not considered as a finalist of the song show in 2018.

Evgen Bushpepa (photo: YouTube)

Belgium/Sennek. The country has participated in the competition 59 times, 51 of them in the final. Once the Belgians became the winners of Eurovision. It was in 1986 when Sandra Kim triumphed with the song in French "J" aime la vie ". The worst result for the representatives of Belgium was in 2007 - 26th place. Sennek should perform in the final, bookmakers are sure.

Czech Republic/Mykolas Josef. The country debuted in the competition in 2007 and participated in the show 6 times and only once - in the final. The best result - 25th place, the worst - last. Mykolas Josef has a good chance of reaching the final, and bookmakers promise him 7th place.

Lithuania/Eva Zasimauskaite. The country has participated in Eurovision 14 times since 1994. The best result was the sixth result in 2006, and the worst - the last place in 2005. Lithuania has minimal chances to reach the final, according to bookmakers.

Eva Z asimauskaite (photo: euroinvision.ru/blog/eva_zasimauskajte)

Israel/Netta Barzilai. Representatives of the country stormed the Eurovision Olympus 40 times and succeeded three times, moreover, two years in a row. In 1978, Izhar Cohen and the Alphabet won the country, in 1979 Gali Atari & Milk and Honey, and in 1998 Dana International triumphed with the hit "iva". Bookmakers are confident that Netta Barzilai with the song "Toy" will not only reach the final, but also win Eurovision 2018.

Belarus/Alekseev. The country participates in the competition for the 15th time. Previously, representatives of Belarus played in the final 5 times. The best was the performance of Dmitry Koldun - 6th place, the worst - Ruslan Alekhno, who did not make it to the final. The Ukrainian performer representing Belarus, Nikita Alekseev, most likely will not qualify for the final in 2018.

Estonia/Elina Nechaeva. Participated since 1994 and the best performance was in 2001 when Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL won the song show in Copenhagen with "Everybody". The last place was taken by Estonia in 2016. Elina Nechaeva gets into the final according to bookmakers' forecasts, where she will possibly take 6th place.

Elina Nechaeva (photo: ru.sputnik-news.ee)

Bulgaria/Equinox. She made her debut in competitions in Kyiv in 2005, took 19th place. Last year, again in Kyiv, Christian Kostov took second place, losing only to the Portuguese Salvador Sobral. The Equinox group is not only the favorite of the first semi-final, but also a contender for victory in the competition, they are in the top five.

Macedonia/Eye Cue. Out of 17 participations, 8 times the Macedonians were in the final. The Balkans did it best in 2006 and 2012 (12th place), worse in 2011 and 2013 (16th place). The participant of Eurovision-2018 is predicted not to make it to the final.

Croatia/Franca. Participates since 1993, twice in 1996 and 1999 was the fourth. Worst of all performed in 2007, five times they did not even reach the final. Exactly absenteeism from the semi-finals is predicted by Franke.

Franca (photo: YuoTube)

Austria/Cesar Sempson. Representatives of the country have participated in the song show since its inception in 1957. Twice the Austrians were disqualified, 9 times they refused to take part. Austria has won Eurovision twice. In 1966, Udo Jurgens triumphed with the song "Merci, Chérie", and in 2014 - the scandalous Conchita Wurst with the single "Rise Like a Phoenix". Cesar Sempson will advance to the final, where he will be in the middle of the second ten.

Greece/Gianna Terzi. They have been performing in the competition since 1974, six times the show was held without the Greeks. In 2005, in Kyiv, Elena Paparizou with the composition My Number One brought Greece the first and last victory to date. Gianna Terzi will be in the final, the bookmakers say, but she won't be the winner.

Finland/Saara Aalto. She began performing in 1961, and since then - 51 times. Once the Finns triumphed. Success was brought in 2006 by "Lordi" with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The last place in 2015 is the worst performance of the representatives of Finland. Saara Aalto can get into the final of the song show.

Saara Aalto (photo: YuoTube)

Armenia/Sevak Khanagyan. The country has been participating in Eurovision since 2006, twice took fourth place: in 2008 and 2014. Armenia has never dropped below 12th place. This year, the participant Sevak Khanagyan has good chances to get to the final, where he is predicted to be in the top ten.

Switzerland/Zibbz. The Swiss did not take part in Eurovision only four times. Twice representatives of this country won the song show. The first time Liz Assia triumphed with Refrain, the second - Celine Dion with Ne partez pas sans moi. Duo Zibbz is unlikely to make it to the final.

Ireland/Ryan O'Shaughnessy. The country has participated in the competition 51 times, 44 of which were in the final. Most of all, and this is 7 times, the representatives of Ireland achieved victory, three of which in a row. So, in 1970, Dana Rosemary Scallon celebrated the victory in Amsterdam, in 1980 - Johnny Logan, aka in 1987, in 1992 - Linda Martin, in 1993 - Niv Kavanagh, in 1994 - Paul Harrington and Charles McGettigan and in 1996 year in Oslo - Eimar Quinn. Performer Ryan O'Shaughnessy will not be able to overcome the barrier of the semi-finals.

Ryan O'Shaughnessy photo: esckaz.com)

Cyprus/Eleni Foureira. The country debuted at Eurovision in 1981 and achieved the best result (5th place) four times, in: 1982, 1997, 2002 and 2004. The lowest 18th place was in 2011. The Cypriot has a good chance to sing in the final and even enter the top ten.

Second semi-final

Norway/Alexander Rybak. Participates in the competition almost every year since its inception, and this is 57 times. Three times, with the efforts of Bobbysocks in 1985, Secret Garden in 1995 and Alexander Rybak with his "Fairytale" in 2009, the country celebrated the victory. The Norwegians performed very poorly (18th place) in 2007. Alexander Rybak gets into the final without any problems, where he will be a clear contender for victory and can only lose to Israeli Netta Barzilai.

Romania/The Humans. Romanians sang 18 times at Eurovision and always got into the final stage. At the same time, they never won, but were third twice (2005,2010). In 1998, fortune did not smile on them and they became 22nd. The Humans have low hopes for the finale.

The Humans (photo: uchastniki.com)

Serbia/Sanja Ilic and Balkanica. 10 times the country participated in the song show, but in their debut year in 2007 they became the winning country. In 2008, the competition was brought to Belgrade by Maria Sherifovic, who performed the legendary "Prayer". Sani Ilic has no chance to please the audience in the final.

San Marino/Jessica and Jennifer Brening. Only eight times the representatives of the country sang at Eurovision and always took the last places. The female duet will not advance from the semi-final stage to the final show.

Denmark/Rasmussen. The Danes have been participating since 1957 and have been winners three times. In 1963 in London, Greta and Jurgen Ingmann, in 2000 - Olsen Brothers, in 2013 - Emily de Forest. The Danes also ranked last in 2002. Rasmussen will enter the final stage of the competition.

Rasmussen photo (YouTube)

Russia/Yulia Samoilova. The country has participated in the song show 20 times and has always been in the final. At the same time, the Russians won only once - in 2008 in Belgrade, the victory of Russia was brought by Dima Bilan. Worst of all, the representatives of Russia performed in 1995 and it was Philip Kirkorov (17th place). Yulia Samoilova will reach the final, but she has no chance of winning there.

Moldova/DoReDo s. Moldovans have been participating since 2005, almost always making it to the final. In 2017, with the efforts of the SunStroke Project, the country was third. The last place was taken in 2014. DoReDos will sing their incendiary song, the music for which was written by Philip Kirkorov, in the final.

Netherlands/Waylon. This country is one of the seven participants in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Since then, she has participated 58 times and won four times: Corrie Brocken in 1957, Teddy Scholten in 1959, Lenny Kuhr in 1969, Teach-In in 1975. But in 2011, the Netherlands was in last place. Waylon is likely to confidently overcome the semi-final stage.

The Eurovision Song Contest is a pop song contest among member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. In total, 60 Eurovision Song Contests have been held throughout history, and 63 songs have become winners. The winner of the competition is the song with the highest number of points given by other Eurovision participating countries.

Vzglyad.az decided to recall the winners of Eurovision over the past 10 years:

Eurovision 2005. Ukraine

The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest. The final of the competition was held in the city of Kyiv.

The first place in the competition was taken by the Greek woman Elena Paparizou with the composition "My number one" ("My number one").

Elena Paparizou was born on January 31, 1982. On May 20, Elena Paparizou performed on the Eurovision stage performing "My Number One" at the opening and "Mambo!" in the interval act and presented the award to Lordi. Elena Paparizou continues her active concert and artistic activity even today.

Eurovision 2006. Greece

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 became the 51st and was held in Athens (Greece) in the Olympic Hall. Performers from 37 countries participated in the competition.

The winner of the competition was the rock band Lordi from Finland with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". For the first time the winner of the competition was a performer of rock music and for the first time - a representative of Finland. Also, the competition set a record for the number of points for first place - 292, at that time.

Lordi is a Finnish English-language shock rock band. Founded in 1996 by Tomi Putaansuu (aka Mr. Lordi). The group is famous for performing in masks and costumes of monsters from the underworld and performing ironic horror-themed songs.

In 2005, Mr. Lordi received a call from the selection committee for the Eurovision Song Contest and was asked to choose a song from the new album that could represent Finland in the competition. The band chose the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and re-arranged it to cut the song from 4 minutes to 3 minutes as dictated by the format of the competition. Lordi successfully won the audience vote and was chosen as Finland's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision 2007. Finland

The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the capital of Finland - Helsinki.

The winner was a representative from Serbia - Maria Sherifovich with the song "Prayer".

Maria Sherifovich was born on November 14, 1984. The Serbian singer of mixed Turkish-Gypsy origin made her first public appearance at the age of 12 with Whitney Houston's "I will Always Love You".

On March 8, 2007, Maria won the Beovizija-2007 competition with the song "Molitva", gaining the largest number of votes during the combined voting of the jury and the TV audience. And thus qualified as the first representative of newly independent Serbia in the European Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The song was also recorded in English, Finnish and Russian. On May 12, the semi-finals took place, the 14 - final, in which Maria performed under No. 17 and took 1st place.

Upon Maria Sherifovic's return to Belgrade, about 100,000 people greeted her at the airport.

Eurovision 2008. Serbia

The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest. It was held on May 24, 2008 in Belgrade (Serbia).

For the first time, the winner was a representative from Russia - Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".

Russian singer Dima Bilan (name at birth and until June 2008 - Viktor Belan) was born on December 24, 1981. He represented Russia at Eurovision in 2006 with the song "Never let you go" (2nd place) and in 2008 with the song "Believe", taking 1st place and becoming the first Russian artist to win the Eurovision Song Contest.

Eurovision 2009. Russia

The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held from May 12 to May 16 at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex in Moscow (Russia).

On May 7, it was officially announced that Andrey Malakhov and Natalya Vodyanova would be the hosts of the semi-finals, and Ivan Urgant and Alsou would be the hosts of the final.

This year, an absolute quantitative record was set in the history of Eurovision - the winner of the competition Alexander Rybak scored 387 points with the song "Fairytale" in the final.

French star Patricia Kaas participated in the competition. Famous in Europe Arash together with Aysel played for Azerbaijan.

Alexander Rybak was born on May 13, 1986. Norwegian singer and violinist of Belarusian origin won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow.

After winning on December 11, 2009, Alexander Rybak performed at the Nobel Concert in Oslo along with world-famous stars, where he performed the song "Fairytale" in a new arrangement with a symphony orchestra.

He was the guest of honor at the Eurovision selection rounds in Finland, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and performed his new song "Heavens of Europe".

Eurovision 2010. Norway

The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 is the 55th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held from 25 to 29 May at the Telenor Arena in Berum, a suburb of the Norwegian capital Oslo. This is the third Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Norway.

The winner of the 2010 competition was Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany with the song "Satellite".

Lena Meyer-Landrut was born on May 23, 1991. The German singer, also known by her stage name Lena, is the winner of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

The future star began taking dance lessons from the age of 5. Mayer-Landrut has played supporting roles in some German television series, but has never been formally trained in acting or singing.

March 12, 2010 Lena Mayer-Landrut won the right to represent her country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo with the song "Satellite". Being a representative of one of the countries of the Big Four, Lena automatically ended up in the final of the competition.

Germany decides to send Lena to Eurovision once again, but now in their own country. The singer again performed immediately in the final of Eurovision 2011 with the song "Taken by A Stranger", in Düsseldorf at the Esprit Arena on May 14 and took 10th place.

Eurovision 2011. Germany

The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th Eurovision Song Contest held in Germany (Düsseldorf).

The winners of this competition were the representatives of Azerbaijan Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (performed under the pseudonyms Ell and Nikki), who performed the song "Running Scared" ("Run without looking back"), gaining 221 points as a result of voting.

Azerbaijani singer Eldar Parviz oglu Gasimov was born on June 4, 1989 in Baku. On the paternal side, he is a descendant of famous Azerbaijani Soviet actors. From 1995 to 2006 he studied at the school and at the music school in piano, which he graduated with honors.

In 2004 and 2008, Eldar won scholarships to study in Germany under a student exchange program. In 2008 he studied vocals, acting and stage speech at the German vocal school. In 2010, Eldar Gasimov graduated with honors from the Faculty of International Relations of the Baku Slavic University.

In 2011, the musician, in a duet with Nigar Jamal, won the Azerbaijani selection for Eurovision, and got the opportunity to represent his country at Eurovision 2011.

Nigar Aydin kyzy Jamal is an Azerbaijani singer, born on September 7, 1980 in Baku. From 1985 to 1986 she was a soloist in a children's ensemble, and while studying at a music school (1988-1995) she composed several songs. She graduated from Khazar University with a degree in Economics and Management. Since 2005 lives in London.

In 2011, together with Eldar Qasimov, she participated in the Azerbaijani selection for Eurovision - Milli Seçim Turu 2010. The duet won the competition, and this provided an opportunity for Nigar and Eldar to represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany. The duet won a landslide victory.

Eurovision 2012. Azerbaijan

The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in the capital of Azerbaijan, in the city of Baku, in the Baku Crystal Hall specially built for the festival.

The first place in the competition was taken by Lorin (Sweden) with the song "Euphoria" ("Euphoria"), gaining 372 points in the voting of the jury and viewers.

Loreen Zineb Noka Tagliaoui, also known as Loreen, is a Swedish singer of Moroccan-Berber origin, born on October 16, 1983 in Stockholm. She began her musical career in 2004 by participating in the famous Swedish music competition Idol 2004, where she took fourth place.

On March 10, 2012, Loreen won the popular Swedish TV contest "Melodifestivalen", which gave her the right to represent her country in the annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest song "Euphoria" was performed in the second semi-final, and in the final won an undeniable victory.

Eurovision 2013. Sweden

The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Malmö, Sweden, at the Malmö Arena.

Denmark participated for the 42nd time in the Eurovision Song Contest. Danish singer Emmylie Charlotte de Forest represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" ("Only Tears") and won first place with 281 points.

The composition became victorious at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 festival, which allowed its performer to go to the competition. The victory deservedly went to a young, but incredibly talented singer, who was only 19. Despite her young age, she has a very solid performance experience, the singer has been singing all her adult life, Emmy has a number of victories in music competitions behind her. According to Emmily herself, she began to sing before talking. As a child, she successfully performed in the church choir, and at the age of 14 she went on her first tour with the Danish musician Fraser Neil.

The composition, which was performed by Emmilie de Forest - "Only Teardrops" - was written by the singer herself.

Eurovision 2014. Denmark

The 59th Eurovision Song Contest was held in Denmark from 6 to 10 May. The blue-blue diamond became the symbol of Eurovision 2014.

In 2014, the winner of the competition unexpectedly for everyone - and for himself too - was the 25-year-old singer from Austria, Thomas Neuwirth, who performed under the stage name Conchita Wurst. In the final, she scored 290 points with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix", 52 points ahead of her nearest competitor - the duet "The Common Linnets" from the Netherlands, who scored 238 points.

Eurovision 2014 as a whole turned out to be the strongest in recent years. Over the past 10 years, Eurovision has received a lot of criticism, and some countries seemed to deliberately send out frankly second-rate artists to the competition.

Thomas Neuwirth is an Austrian gay singer who, with the help of his stage image of a bearded woman, fights for tolerance and equality of all people, regardless of their appearance.

This image is three years old; Neuwirth in the form of Wurst - a bearded and stylishly dressed vamp - could go to Eurovision 2012, but took second place in the national selection.

The musician himself separates himself and the singer he created - this is how, however, all artists who work with characters of a different (and their own) gender do. You can remember, for example, Verka Serduchka, who was invented by Andrey Danilko from Ukraine and who recorded albums in this image, starred in films, represented his country at Eurovision 2007 and even took second place there.

The choice of Europe can hardly be considered demonstrative - objectively Conchita Wurst, despite the beard, was the most feminine of the artists participating in this year's competition, and possessed perhaps the most outstanding vocal abilities in comparison with other contestants.

Eurovision 2015. Austria

The final of Eurovision 2015 was held in the Austrian capital Vienna on 23 May.

According to the results of the 12-point evaluation scale, Mons Zelmerlev became the winner of Eurovision 2015 with the song Heroes. He scored 365 points and broke away from Russia, which remained in second place.

Mons Zelmerlev was born on June 13, 1986 in the Swedish city of Lund into a family of doctors. His father, Sven-Olaf Zelmerlev, worked as a surgeon, and his mother, Bridget Salen, is a professor in the field of speech pathologies. The boy grew up on the music of Michael Jackson and Elton John. At first, Mons learned to play the piano, but he soon got bored with this instrument, and he changed it to the guitar.

In 2002, Mons took part in the filming of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, where he got a small role as one of Joseph's eleven brothers.

At nineteen, the young man did not yet have a clear idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat he would do in the future. At that time, a friend of Mons persuaded him to go to Stockholm (Sweden) and audition for the talent show Idol 2005, where he took fifth place, and, to his surprise, Mons Zelmerlev passed the qualifying round, singing Enrique Iglesias' song. It was the first time the guy visited the capital of Sweden. The singer did not manage to win this competition.

The next dream of the artist was a big European tour with his team. To implement it, Mons Zelmerlev took part in the Eurovision 2015 qualifying round and successfully passed it. True, only the third attempt was successful, before that the musician had not passed the casting twice, the last time in 2009. At Eurovision 2015, Mons Zelemerlev performed the song Heroes.

In addition to his musical career, Mons took part in the dubbing of cartoons. So, the voice of a popular singer was spoken by Lem from Planet 51, as well as Flynn Rider from the cartoon fairy tale Rapunzel: Tangled.