Eurovision. Russian participants of "Eurovision" in the history of the contest

In the midst of one of the most popular musical events − Eurovision− we decided to recall the brightest winners of this competition in its entire history. Who do you remember the most?

ABBA

WITH Eurovision the triumphant ascent of the Swedish group began ABBA. The year before, they had no name and only a few songs in their repertoire. Song waterloo in 1974 won the hearts of not only the British, but of the whole Europe, rising to the top of the international charts in a matter of days.

Celine Dion

After Eurovision fame came to one of the best-selling singers in the world − Celine Dion(47). In 1988, the young singer appeared in front of a television audience of 600 million people with the song Je Danse Dans Ma Tete. At the competition she represented Switzerland.

Toto Cutugno

In 1990 in Zagreb famous winner Toto Cutugno(71). He won the song contest Insieme giving Italy the right to host Eurovision in 1991, where Cutugno became the presenter.

secret garden

Group secret garden which represented Norway, won on "Eurovision-1995" and after that became world famous, releasing several successful albums. Victory on "Eurovision" ensured, in particular, the success of their first album Songs from a Secret Garden. It has sold over a million copies worldwide!

Dana International

Were on "Eurovision" and unique cases. So, in 1998, the winner was Dana International, which to this day remains the only transgender representative who participated in the competition. The girl used to be a man named Cohen.

Ruslana

May 2004 Ruslana(41) entered the international stage − Ukrainian singer struck musical competition "Eurovision" V Istanbul. Single "Wild dances", which brought her victory, and the album of the same name conquered the audience in more than 25 countries. For ninety-seven weeks Ruslana was in the lead in 14 different charts in Europe.

Lordi

The year 2006 was also rich in surprises. The record number of points - 292 - received Finnish rock band Lordi. Even before the competition, the musicians caused a big buzz in the media with their monster masks and a song performed in the tradition hard rock. After their victory "Eurovision" jokingly called "Monstervision".

In 2008, it was finally the turn to rejoice in Russia. On "Eurovision-2008" to Belgrade with a song Believe and a large "support group" came Dima Bilan(33). For the singer, this was the second chance to win, since for the first time, in 2006, she went to the Finns Lordi. The singer performed in the company of a Hungarian virtuoso violinist Edwin Marton(41) and the famous figure skater Evgenia Plushenko(32). According to the results of the audience SMS voting Russia scored 272 points. Thanks to this victory Moscow for the first time became the capital of the 54th competition "Eurovision".

Alexander Rybak

Predictable and expected "Eurovision-2009" V Russia the winner was a candidate from Norway Belarusian origin Alexander Rybak(29) with a song Fairytale. A simple but sincere performance of a boy with a violin took the whole soul Europe: he scored 387 points, which is an absolute record in the history of the competition. The highest score was awarded to the winner by 15 countries.

Lena Meyer-Landrut

The victory predicted by bookmakers also went to the German singer Lene Meyer-Landrut(23). Literally a week after winning the national selection, the video for the song Satellite garnered over 2.5 million views on Internet(and by the time of the first semi-final - more than 9.7 million). As a result, Lena scored 246 points.

Elle and Nikki

In 2011, the winners of the competition were the romantic couple Elle and Nikki from Azerbaijan. They sang a song Running Scared.

Loreen

One of the most recognizable songs Lately became Euphoria Swedish singer Loreen(31). In 2012, it was she who took first place and topped all the charts. Today Loreen is one of the most popular singers in Europe.

Emily de Forest

Then the world preferred to give the laurels of victory to the singer from Denmark Emily de Forest(22). She impressed everyone with her spontaneity.

Conchita Wurst

But, perhaps, the loudest event of the competition was the victory Conchita Wurst(26) in 2014, who attracted attention not only for her facial hair, but also for her strong voice and energy.

Well, now we sincerely hope that the next bright winner Eurovision will be beautiful (28)!

Eurovision results are always awaited with trepidation all over the world. After all, this is not just a singing competition, it is also a grandiose show, as well as a symbol of the unity of all European countries. So it is not at all surprising that almost every person in Europe always watches Eurovision with bated breath and every country cheers for its performer, hoping that he will get the victory this year. But in the end, the victory goes to someone alone, and the inhabitants of other countries can only rejoice that the next one has found its recognition. In addition, as they say, it is not so much the victory that is important, but the participation. But, nevertheless, let's get acquainted with the list of Eurovision winners by years, which sunk into the hearts of millions of people.

List of Eurovision winners

Since the Eurovision Song Contest has been held since 1956, it is completely unrealistic to remember each of the participants, and it is also difficult to even remember those who won the Eurovision Song Contest. Although someone probably remembers that it was thanks to the victory in this competition that the ABBA group and singer Celine Dion became famous. But since we are now in the twenty-first century, let's just remember all the victories at Eurovision over the past fourteen years.

2000 - Olsen Brothers. Danish pop-rock duo consisting of the two Olsen brothers, Jurgen and Niels. Subsequently, during the competition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the competition itself, their song, with which the duet performed in 2000, took sixth place in the list best songs ever performed on the Eurovision stage. Definitely something to be proud of.

2001 - Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Estonian singer duo with a hip-hop group on backing vocals (2XL). Tanel and Dave brought their country the first ever victory at the Eurovision Song Contest. Also, after winning the competition, Tanel Padar became one of the most famous rock singers in Estonia.

2002 - Marie N. Latvian singer of Russian origin Maria Naumova was the first Eurovision winner whose song was not published anywhere outside the country. In 2003, Maria was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Riga.

2003 - Sertab Erener. Eurovision winner Sertab Erener is one of the most successful and famous Turkish pop singers. Her song was placed ninth on the list of the best Eurovision songs, which was compiled during the 50th anniversary of the contest.

2004 - Ruslana. The performance of this Ukrainian singer in 2004 made a splash at the competition due to its incendiary nature. In the same year, Ruslana was awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine for winning Eurovision.

2005 - Elena Paparizou. Greek singer. In 2001, she already participated in the competition, but then she sang as part of the Antique group and this group took third place. And in 2005, Elena performed her number solo and eventually achieved what she wanted - victory.

2006 - Lordi. This Finnish hard rock band shocked everyone with their unusual appearance. The band members always perform in costumes and monster masks, which look quite realistic. And their repertoire is ironic songs about all sorts of horrors.

2007 - Maria Sherifovich. Serbian singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Prayer" performed in Serbian, in contrast to the more usual English for this competition.

2008 - Dima Bilan. This year, luck has smiled on the Russian pop singer Dima Bilan. It was the first and so far the only victory of Russia at Eurovision, but how brilliant it was!

2009 - Alexander Rybak. Singer and violinist of Belarusian origin, representing Norway at the competition. This winner of the Eurovision Song Contest scored a record number of points in history.

2010 - Lena Meyer-Landrut. German singer participated in Eurovision twice: in 2010, having received a victory and in 2011, losing it to another country.

2011 - Ell & Nikki. Azerbaijani duet, including Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal.

2012 - Lauryn. Quite popular Swedish singer, which has Moroccan-Berber roots. The girl won the Eurovision Song Contest by a fairly large margin, leaving behind the participants from Russia.

2013 - Emmy de Forest. The Danish singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, has been fond of singing since childhood, and therefore her victory is not at all surprising. In addition, even at the very beginning of the competition, she was already predicted to win.

2014 – . This year's Eurovision winner from Austria Conchita Wurst came as a real shock to many people. No one expected to see a bearded singer at the competition, and no one predicted her victory. Conchita's real name is Thomas Neuwirth. And, despite the public unrest, it cannot be denied that the image of a woman with a beard was really unusual, and Thomas's voice is very strong and interesting.

All Eurovision winners from 1992 to 2016.

Content:
0:40 - Irish singer and TV presenter Linda Martin won the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest with "Why Me".
0:57 - In 1993, Ireland won again - Irish singer and TV presenter Neve Kavanagh took first place with the song "In Your Eyes".
1:15 - In 1994, the Irish duet of Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan won with the song "Rock" n "Roll Kids".
1:38 - Secret Garden won the Eurovision Song Contest for Norway in 1995 with "Nocturne".
2:02 - 1996 - and the winner is again Ireland. Irish singer Aimar Quinn song The Voice brought the seventh victory to their country.
2:21 - In 1997, British-American pop-rock band Katrina and the Waves with the song "Love Shine A Light" brought victory to the UK.
2:41 - In 1998, the Israeli singer Dana International with the song "Diva" brought the first place to Israel.
3:03 - In 1999, Swedish singer and actress Charlotte Nilsson, representing Sweden in the competition with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven", won first place and brought victory to her country.
In 2000, the duo from Denmark, the Olsen Brothers, won the palm. Brothers Niels and Jürgen Olsen performed the song Fly on the Wings of Love, which brought Denmark the first place.
In 2001, the Estonian duet consisting of Tanel Padar and Dave Benton entered the Eurovision stage with the song Everybody. The hip hop team 2XL was on backing vocals. The musicians brought the first ever Estonian victory in the competition.
In 2002, the victory at Eurovision left for Latvia. It was won by Marie N - Latvian singer of Russian origin Maria Naumova, with the song I Wanna.
In 2003, the Turkish pop star Sertab Erener ascended the podium with the song Everyway That I Can.
In 2004, the winner was the representative of Ukraine - the singer Ruslana. Her performance was a real sensation thanks to the incendiary song Wild Dances. Vile dances
In 2005, luck smiled at the Greek Elena Paparizou - with the song My Number One, she brought Greece first place.
In 2006, the Eurovision Song Contest was rocked by heavy hard rock chords, and hot Finnish guys in costumes of mythical monsters appeared on the stage and performed the song Hard Rock Hallelujah. Creativity group Lordi literally blew up the public, and Finland took first place.
In 2007, Serbian pop singer Maria Sherifovic performed the song on mother tongue. Her “Prayer” was heard, despite the fact that it was not spoken in traditional English for the competition, and Maria brought victory to Serbia.
In 2008, luck smiled at the Russian pop singer. Dima Bilan was the first winner from Russia. His song Believe and the spectacular number made a big impression on the audience.
In 2009 at Eurovision the first place was taken by the singer and violinist of Belarusian origin Alexander Rybak, who represented Norway. Rybak performed the incendiary song Fairytale, which was very liked by many viewers and brought victory to Norway.
In 2010, the representative of Germany Lena Meyer-Landrut with the song Satellite became the undisputed favorite of the competition.
In 2011, the Azerbaijani duet Ell & Nikki, which includes Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal, brought first place to Azerbaijan with the song Running Scared.
In 2012, Swede of Moroccan-Berber origin Loreen won Sweden with the song Euphoria.
In 2013, the Danish singer Emmylie de Forest brought victory to her country with the song Only Teardrops.
In 2014, many Eurovision fans were in for a real shock. The bearded singer from Austria Conchita Wurst took first place in the competition with the song Rise Like a Phoenix. The real name of the singer who hides under this pseudonym is Thomas Neurwit.
In 2015, Sweden's Mons Selmerlöw won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Heroes. Even before the final vote, many called the singer "the king of the stage."
In 2016, the Ukrainian singer and actress of Crimean Tatar origin Jamala became the winner of Eurovision. With the song 1944, she brought Ukraine first place.

Eurovision All participants of Russia since 1994.

1995 Philip Kirkorov "Lullaby for the volcano"
At Eurovision 1995, Russia was represented by pop singer Philip Kirkorov.

1997 Alla Pugacheva "Diva"
In 1997, Alla Pugacheva represented our country, performing the song "Diva" she took 15th place.

2000 Alsu "Solo"
In 2000, Russia is represented by a 16-year-old singer from Tatarstan - Alsou, who was waiting for a triumph - her song "Solo" took 2nd place in the competition.

2001 "Mumiy Troll" "Lady Alpine Blue"
In 2001, she went to Eurovision Russian rock band"Mummy Troll". With the song "Lady Alpine Blue", the group took 12th place.

2002 "Prime Minister" "Northern Girl"
The pop group "Prime Minister" performed at the song contest in 2002. Having performed the song "Northern Girl", the quartet became the tenth.

2003 t.A.T.u. "Do not trust, do not fear, do not ask"
In 2003, the group “t.A.T.u.”, popular both in Russia and abroad, participated in Eurovision. At the competition in Latvia, the group performed the song "Do not believe, do not be afraid, do not ask" and took 3rd place.

2004 Julia Savicheva "Believe Me"
In 2004, they sent a modest graduate of the TV project "Star Factory - 2" Yulia Savicheva. With the song "Believe Me" she took 11th place.

2005 Natalia Podolskaya "Nobody Hurt No One"
Another member of the Star Factory, singer Natalya Podolskaya, represented Russia with a rock-style song "Nobody Hurt No One". At the competition, Natalia became the 15th.

2006 Dima Bilan "Never Let You Go"
Eurovision participant from Russia in 2006 Dima Bilan performed the song "Never Let You Go" and became the second.

2007 "Serebro" "Song #1"
In 2007, the unknown group "Silver" went to defend the honor of Russia, which performed quite successfully with the song "Song # 1" - it became the third.

2008 Dima Bilan "Believe"
In 2008, Dima Bilan again went to Eurovision and this time he returned to his homeland as a triumph. His song "Believe" took 1st place - Russia won the competition for the first time. Bilan did not perform alone on stage, he was assisted by figure skater Evgeni Plushenko and Hungarian violinist and composer Edwin Marton.

2009 Anastasia Prikhodko "Mamo"
In 2009 Eurovision was held in Moscow for the first time. Russia was represented at the competition by another graduate of the Star Factory - Ukrainian singer Anastasia Prikhodko. She sang the song "Mamo" in Russian and Ukrainian and ended up in 11th place.

2010 Peter Nalich "Lost and Forgotten"
In 2010, Russian singer Petr Nalich represented Russia at Eurovision with the song "Lost and Forgotten" and took 11th place.

2011 Alexey Vorobyov "Get You"
In 2011, Russian singer Alexei Vorobyov participated in Eurovision with the song "Get You".

2012 "Buranovskiye Babushki" "Party for Everybody"
In 2012, the Buranovskiye Babushki represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Party for Everybody", which they performed in Udmurt and English. They made a huge impression on the audience and eventually became the second.

2013 Dina Garipova "What If"
The winner of the TV show "Voice" Dina Garipova in 2013 took 5th place at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, performing the romantic ballad "What If".

2014 Tolmacheva Sisters "Shine"
In 2014, twin sisters Anastasia and Maria Tolmacheva performed from Russia with the song "Shine" and took 7th place.

2015 Polina Gagarina "A Million Voices"
In 2015, Russia was represented by the winner of the "Star Factory-2" Polina Gagarina with the song "A Million Voices" and took the honorable 2nd place.

2016 Sergey Lazarev "You Are the Only One"
In 2016, our country was represented by singer Sergey Lazarev and with the song "You Are the Only One" he took third place.

2017 To represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, the final of which will be held today on May 13 in Kyiv, was supposed to be singer Yulia Samoilova, but Ukraine banned the Russian participant from entering the country.
Russia is not participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

Eurovision 2017 final: countries and participants, performance order

The full list of participants in the Eurovision 2017 final looks like this:

1. UK - Lucy Jones, Never Give Up On You 2. Germany - Levina, Perfect Life 3. Spain - Manuel Navarro, Do It for Your Lover 4. Italy - Francesco Gabbani, Occidentali's Karma 5. France - Alma, Requiem 6. Ukraine - O.Torvald, Time 7. Australia - Isaiah Firebrace, Don't Come Easy 8. Armenia - Artsvik, Fly With Me 9. Azerbaijan - Dihaj, Skeletons 10. Belgium - Blanche, City Lights 11. Greece - Demi, This is Love 12. Cyprus - Hovig, Gravity 13. Moldova - Sunstroke Project, Hey Mamma

14. Poland - Kasia Mos, Flashlight 15. Portugal - Salvador Sobral, Amar pelos dois 16. Sweden - Robin Bengtsson, I Can't Go On 17. Austria - Nathan Trent, Running On Air 18. Bulgaria - Christian Kostov, Beautiful Mess 19. Belarus - NAVIBAND, History of Maygo Zhytsya 20. Denmark - Anja Nissen, Where I Am 21. Croatia - Jacques Hudek, My Friend 22. Norway - JOWST, Grab The Moment 23. Netherlands - OG3NE, Lights and Shadows 24. Hungary - Yotsy Papai, Origo 25. Romania - Ilinka and Alex Florea, Yodel It! 26. Israel - Imri Ziv, I Feel Alive,

Eurovision 2017 final: favorites, bookmakers' opinion
Bookmakers continue to accept bets on the winner of Eurovision 2017, therussiantimes.com notes. According to the rating, the victory of Italy is predicted, which is represented by Francesco Gabbani with the song Occidentali's Karma, EurovisionWorld reports.

The second place can be taken by Salvador Sobral from Portugal with the song Amar pelos dois.

Third place - the representative of Bulgaria Christian Kostov with the song Beautiful Mess.

Channel One will not show the broadcast on its air due to the fact that earlier the SBU banned Russian participant Yulia Samoilova from entering Ukraine.

You can watch the final of Eurovision 2017 online on May 13, 2017 at 22.00 Moscow time on the websites Eurovision.ua and Eurovision.tv

Eurovision is the oldest annual international television competition, the participants of which are, first of all, members of the European Broadcasting Union. The competition was organized and shown to the world on the basis of music festival in San Remo (Italy). All the winners of the main music scene in Europe - in the material LIGA.net.

It all started modestly - back in the days of black and white television. The first winner of the competition was the Swiss singer Liz Assia. At the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, she performed with two songs at once - the rules of the competition also changed several times - and the composition "Refrain" won. However, then Asia did not have too much competition - only seven countries took part in the competition - Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The following year, Austria, Denmark and Britain joined the competition, while the Netherlands took over as the Eurovision winner thanks to Corrie Brocken and her song "Net Als Toen". In 1958, Sweden joined the competition family, and the French actor and singer André Claveau won the prize, captivating the jury and the audience with the love song "Dors, Mon Amour".

1959 was another successful year for the Netherlands - singer Teddy Scholten won with the song "Een Beetje". The tradition of inviting new countries to participate has not changed - this year a participant from Monaco entered the competition stage. 1960 - the winner again France - Jacqueline Boyer with the song "Tom Pillibi", and debuted at Eurovision Norway. The Netherlands refused to hold the contest, so the UK took over the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1961, in the broadcast of the Eurovision on television, footage with the audience already appeared, without which it is difficult to imagine the competition today. Finland, Spain and Yugoslavia joined, and won french singer Jean-Claude Pascal representing Luxembourg with the song "Nous les amoureux".

In 1962, the French contestant Isabelle Aubret won with her song "Un premier amour". However, France refused to hold the contest at home and the UK again came to the rescue - Eurovision 1963 was held at the new BBC television center in Sheppard's Bush. Denmark won the eighth contest with the song "Dansevise" performed by Greta and Jürgen Ingmann. The Netherlands then for the first time in the history of the competition for the second year in a row did not receive a single point.

Portugal joined Eurovision in 1964. The stage of the competition took on the shape familiar to the modern audience, but musical accompaniment still performed by a live orchestra. Gigliola Cinquetti from Italy won with the song "Non ho l'eta".

In 1965, Ireland made its debut on the stage of the competition. The USSR and other Eastern European countries broadcast Eurovision. The TV audience exceeded 150 million people. Luxembourg won the Eurovision Song Contest for the second time, represented by France Gall with the song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son".

Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 with the song "Merci Chérie" performed by Udo Jürgens. And on next year in Vienna, it was the UK, represented by Sandy Shaw with the song "Puppet On a String", that brought home the competition, this time deserving. In 1968, the Eurovision Song Contest was broadcast in color for the first time, and Spain became the winner with the song "La, la, la ..." performed by Massiel.

Photo - video screenshot

The following year, in Madrid, for the first time in the history of the competition, four countries became winners at once - the host of the 1969 competition, Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Austria refused to participate in the contest due to Franco's dictatorship in Spain. In 1970, the Netherlands accepted the Eurovision Song Contest, which, after their past victories at the contest, then refused to host it. In Amsterdam, Ireland won, represented by Dana with the song "All Kinds of Everything".

Monaco won the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Un banc, un arbre, une rue", performed by singer Severin. For the next two consecutive years, Luxembourg won, represented by Vicky Leandros with the song "Après toi" and Anna-Maria David with the song "Tu te reconnaîtras". Israel joined the competition in 1973.

In 1974, in the British city of Brighton (Luxembourg could not hold the contest for the second time for financial reasons), the legendary swedish band"ABBA" with the song "Waterloo". This year, for the first time, viewers were able to watch the video preceding each performance, telling about the performer and his country.

Eurovision-1975 was replenished with a new participant - Turkey, and the victory, for the fourth time, was won by the Netherlands with the group "Teach-In" and the song "Ding-a-dong".

In 1976, the competition was held in The Hague and was won by the Eurovision record holder - Great Britain, which was represented by "Brotherhood of Man" with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me".

The next year in London, the title of winner was received by another record holder of the competition - France. In 1977 she was represented by Marie Miriam, who performed "L'oiseau et l'enfant". Then, in Paris, Israel won for the first time, and twice in a row - Izhar Cohen & Alphabeta sang "A-ba'ni-bi", and the next year in Jerusalem, the song "Hallelujah" was performed by Gali Atari & Milk and Honey.

In 1980, Israel did not hold the contest for the second time and Eurovision was again hosted by the Dutch Hague. This time the winner was Johnny Logan from Ireland with the song "What's Another Year", and the stage of the competition has already taken on a shape even more familiar to modern Eurovision fans. Although, surprisingly, the live orchestra still remained. This year, Morocco joined the competition.

In 1981, the bright and positive "Bucks Fizz" representing Great Britain won, and the competition was replenished with one more participant - Cyprus. By this time, 20 countries had already taken part in Eurovision.

The following year, in British Harrogate, Germany won for the first time, which until then had repeatedly remained one step away from the coveted title and took second place. German singer Nicole performed the song "Ein bisschen Frieden".

In 1982, Luxembourg won in Munich - it was represented by Corine Erme with the song "Si la vie est cadeau", and the following year Sweden became the winner for the second time in the history of the competition. The group "Herreys" with the song "Diggi-loo-diggi-ley" then scored 145 points.

The winner in Swedish Gothenburg at the 30th Eurovision Song Contest was the brilliant and positive "Bobbysocks" from Norway with the song "La det swinge".

In 1986, Sandra Kim from Belgium scored the highest score with "J'aime la vie". The following year Irishman Johnny Logan won in Brussels with "Hold Me Now". At this competition appeared and new member- Iceland.

Eurovision 1988 gave fame to Celine Dion, who represented Switzerland with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi".

The following year, in Lausanne, Yugoslavia won the competition for the first time, from which the group "Riva" performed with the song "Rock Me".

In 1990 the competition was held in Zagreb. The winner of the 35th Eurovision was the Italian Toto Cutugno, performing "Insieme 1992".

In 1991, the Swedish singer Carola won in Rome with the song "Fangad av en stormvind", but she scored an equal number of points with France. The following year, the competition was held in Malmö, Sweden, thanks to "additional indicators" determined by the jury.

Ireland won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1992, 1993 and 1994. She was represented by Linda Martin with "Why Me", then by Neve Kavanagh with "In Your Eyes" and finally by Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan with "Rock'n'Roll Kids". In 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia joined the competition. And in 1994, Eurovision immediately replenished with seven participants - after the collapse of the USSR, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia began to perform on the stage of the competition. By the way, Poland in the first year of its participation took second place.

Norway won in 1995. She was represented by the duet "Secret Garden" with the song "Nocturne".

Ireland won again the following year. This time the competition was brought to Dublin by Aimar Quinn and the song "The Voice".
Eurovision-1997 glorified the British pop-rock band 2Katrina and the Waves" and their song "Love Shine a Light". By the way, Ireland did not quite give up their positions and took second place this year.

In 1998 the competition was held in Birmingham and won by Dana International (real name - Sharon Cohen) from Israel with the song "Diva". This was the first time when a "non-traditional" contestant won - the future singer was born a man and 5 years before the victory at Eurovision she changed her gender. In the same year, Macedonia joined the competition.

The following year, Sweden's Charlotte Nielson won in Jerusalem with "Take Me to Your Heaven". In 2000 in Stockholm, the Danish duo "Olsen Brothers" and the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" received the highest number of points in the competition.

In 2001, Estonia finally announced itself in Copenhagen. It was represented by three participants at once - singers Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and the group 2XL.