Eurovision Song Contest Sweden 2013

After Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Azerbaijan with Euphoria, the 2013 contest was held in Malmö, Sweden. It was the fifth time Sweden hosted the contest. 39 countries took part. The first semi-final was held on 14 May, the second on 16 May and the Grand Final on 18 May. Emmelie de Forest from Denmark won with Only Teardrops and 281 points, 47 points ahead of Azerbaijan. It was the third victory for Denmark.

The “Parade of Nations”, in which the finalists present themselves with their national flags before the show, returned after a long break.

Hours before the Grand Final, Lithuanian media published an undercover video suggesting that people were trying to collect large numbers of televotes for one entry. The EBU said it was investigating, that the intentions of the people in the video had not been clarified and that no link to the Azerbaijani delegation had been established. The voting observer PwC confirmed to the EBU that the result of the contest was valid. For 2014 the EBU tightened the rules: if irregular voting in favour of a country is detected, the Reference Group can exclude the broadcaster concerned from the contest for up to three consecutive years. The EBU said it had found no evidence that any broadcaster had been involved.

Sources: EBU: Denmark wins the 58th Eurovision Song Contest; EBU: Eurovision organisers respond to media reports on voting (21 May 2013); EBU: Eurovision Song Contest organisers tighten measures to ensure voting integrity (6 February 2014); Wikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest 2013 (Parade of Nations).