Eurovision Song Contest Finland 2007

After Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with Hard Rock Hallelujah, the 2007 contest was held in Helsinki, Finland. It was the first time Finland hosted the contest. The shows were held in the Hartwall Areena, the host broadcaster was Yle and the presenters were Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi. There was one semi-final, on 10 May, and the Grand Final was held on 12 May. 42 countries took part, three more than the previous record, and the EBU set aside its limit of 40 countries to allow it. The Czech Republic and Georgia made their debuts, and Montenegro and Serbia took part as independent countries for the first time.

Marija Šerifović from Serbia won with Molitva and 268 points, 33 points ahead of Ukraine’s Dancing Lasha Tumbai, performed by Verka Serduchka. It was Serbia’s first victory, and the first year it competed as an independent country. Russia’s Song #1 was third. All countries had to use televoting and/or SMS voting, with a backup jury used only if the votes of a country did not meet the EBU’s threshold.

Sources: Wikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest 2007 (host broadcaster, presenters, participants, voting rules).