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Russia Won! Yes, Dima Bilan on his second attempt after 2nd place in Athens 2006 won with Believe, and the 2009 contest will therefore be in Russia, and I've already decided I will be there for the final on May 16th 2009! 2nd place was taken by Ukraine's Ani Lorak with Shady Lady and in 3rd place was Kalomira for Greece with Secret Combination. The UK came joint last. There's been a lot of talk of the UK pulling out after this poor showing, but the truth is we need better songs and a less carping commentator. I love the Wogan breakfast show, but he's too negative for Eurovision - I'd recommend listening to the Ken Bruce Radio 2 commentary which I have as a recording alongside Terry Wogan's. Ken is much less critical and indeed suggests that this year voting was more about the songs. Russia did get points from countries outside Eastern Europe, and let's not forget Norway came 5th with Hold On Be Strong sung by Maria. A good song from Western Europe can do well. Let's hope the UK puts up a good song next year - its only 6 years since we came 3rd with Come Back sung by Jessica Garlick, but its more important the show takes place and is watched by all those millions as Saturday night entertainment. Another Eurovision! Its all down to Maria Serafovic - Serbia's winning Singer of the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest - the 2008 contest will be held in Belgrade, Serbia in May 2008. Come with me once more into the world of The Eurovision Song Contest! There's a calendar of upcoming events on the left and a list of songs to compete on the Songlist Page No reports this year Well this year seems to be a first for many reasons. The first time there have been 2 semi finals, the first on May 20th, the second on May 22nd. Both will be shown in the UK on BBC-3. the line-up is on the Songlist Page. The final is on May 24th. Its also a first in that I will not be attending this year's contest - the first time since 1993 which I missed after attending the 1992 show in Malmo. It hasn't yet fully sunk in, but this is the way it has to be - at least for this year. So no reports from the contest on this site which has reported during the week since 1997, but now the hullabaloo is 2 weeks and perhaps that's too long. The official site at www.eurovision.tv is doing a sterling job, and I will be watching the shows on BBC-TV. Make sure you don't miss it! Let's hope the winner is a good 'un, and we know the contest will go from strength to strength. Main thing is to take note of the Czech singer's song lyrics and Have Some Fun! Voting Order Since its so hard to find I thought I'd give here the voting order for Saturday which was determined way back in March: UK, Macedonia, Ukraine, Germany, Estonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Belgium, San Marino, Latvia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Israel, Cyprus, Moldova, Iceland, France, Romania, Portugal, Norway, Hungary, Andorra, Poland, Slovenia, Armenia, Czech Republic, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, Malta, Ireland, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Greece, Finland, Croatia, Sweden, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, Montenegro, Georgia and Denmark. And here's an Excel spreadsheet with all the maths for the fast typers to have their own scoreboard. Enjoy! Geoff Harrison