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==Controversies== | ==Controversies== | ||
{{Controversy-section|date=August 2009}} | |||
===Azerbaijan and Armenia=== | ===Azerbaijan and Armenia=== | ||
A series of controversies between Armenia and Azerbaijan unfolded throughout the semi-finals and final. During the semi-finals, the introductory "postcard" leading into the Armenian performance depicted, amongst other monuments, '']'', a statue located in ], capital city of the unrecognized ] which is a ''de-jure'' part of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Eurovision_A_MeltingPot_Contest_Where_Native_Doesnt_Always_Mean_Best/1732594.html|title=Eurovision: A Melting-Pot Contest, Where Native Doesn't Always Mean Best|last=Deasy|first=Kristin|date=2009-05-15|publisher='']''|accessdate=2009-05-17}}</ref> After an official complaint by Azerbaijan, the video clip was edited out for the broadcast of the final.<ref name="frontline">{{cite web |url=http://frontlineclub.com/blogs/onnikkrikorian/2009/05/festering-wounds-overshadow-eurovision-in-the-south-caucasus.html |title=Ethnic rivalry wins over kitsch in the Caucasus |last=Krikorian |first=Onnik |date=2009-05-16 |publisher='']'' |accessdate=2008-09-17 }}</ref> However, in retaliation the presenter of the Armenian votes, ], held up a clipboard with the monument's picture on it as she read off the votes, and in the background a screen in the Yerevan's main square could be seen to display the monument.<ref name="frontline" /> ]'s "postcard" depicted the ] and ] monuments, symbols of the cities of ] and ], in Iran's ] region. <ref>"Ayandeh News, Haraj Sarmaayeh Farhangi Tabriz dar Eurovision 2009 (Putting the cultural heritage of Tabriz on Sale at Eurovision 2009), 11 Khordad 1388 (June 1, 2009), accessed: June 3, 2009 at </ref> Armenian media complained that while Eurovision forbade display of an Armenian monument located in Karabakh after the Azerbaijani protest, it allowed Azerbaijan's inclusion of the ]ian monuments.<ref>http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=31848</ref><ref>http://www.mosnews.com/society/2009/05/18/armenianazericontestconflict/</ref> Despite the controversy, 1,065 Armenians voted for the Azerbaijani entry and Armenia gave Azerbaijan one point. A total of 43 Azerbaijanis voted for the Armenian entry. | A series of controversies between Armenia and Azerbaijan unfolded throughout the semi-finals and final. During the semi-finals, the introductory "postcard" leading into the Armenian performance depicted, amongst other monuments, '']'', a statue located in ], capital city of the unrecognized ] which is a ''de-jure'' part of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/Eurovision_A_MeltingPot_Contest_Where_Native_Doesnt_Always_Mean_Best/1732594.html|title=Eurovision: A Melting-Pot Contest, Where Native Doesn't Always Mean Best|last=Deasy|first=Kristin|date=2009-05-15|publisher='']''|accessdate=2009-05-17}}</ref> After an official complaint by Azerbaijan, the video clip was edited out for the broadcast of the final.<ref name="frontline">{{cite web |url=http://frontlineclub.com/blogs/onnikkrikorian/2009/05/festering-wounds-overshadow-eurovision-in-the-south-caucasus.html |title=Ethnic rivalry wins over kitsch in the Caucasus |last=Krikorian |first=Onnik |date=2009-05-16 |publisher='']'' |accessdate=2008-09-17 }}</ref> However, in retaliation the presenter of the Armenian votes, ], held up a clipboard with the monument's picture on it as she read off the votes, and in the background a screen in the Yerevan's main square could be seen to display the monument.<ref name="frontline" /> ]'s "postcard" depicted the ] and ] monuments, symbols of the cities of ] and ], in Iran's ] region. <ref>"Ayandeh News, Haraj Sarmaayeh Farhangi Tabriz dar Eurovision 2009 (Putting the cultural heritage of Tabriz on Sale at Eurovision 2009), 11 Khordad 1388 (June 1, 2009), accessed: June 3, 2009 at </ref> Armenian media complained that while Eurovision forbade display of an Armenian monument located in Karabakh after the Azerbaijani protest, it allowed Azerbaijan's inclusion of the ]ian monuments.<ref>http://www.panarmenian.net/news/eng/?nid=31848</ref><ref>http://www.mosnews.com/society/2009/05/18/armenianazericontestconflict/</ref> Despite the controversy, 1,065 Armenians voted for the Azerbaijani entry and Armenia gave Azerbaijan one point. A total of 43 Azerbaijanis voted for the Armenian entry. |
Revision as of 14:33, 27 August 2009
"Eurovision 2009" redirects here. For the Junior Contest, see Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009.Eurovision Song Contest 2009 | |
---|---|
File:Eurovision Song Contest 2009 logo.png | |
Dates | |
Semi-final 1 | 12 May 2009 |
Semi-final 2 | 14 May 2009 |
Final | 16 May 2009 |
Host | |
Venue | Olympic Indoor Arena Moscow, Russia |
Presenter(s) | Semi-finals: Natalia Vodianova Andrey Malahov Final: Ivan Urgant Alsou |
Director | Andrey Boltenko |
Host broadcaster | Channel One |
Website | eurovision |
Participants | |
Number of entries | 42 |
Debuting countries | None |
Returning countries | Slovakia |
Non-returning countries | Georgia San Marino |
Participation map
| |
Vote | |
Winning song | Norway "Fairytale" |
2008 ← Eurovision Song Contest → 2010 |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia.
The contest was won by Norway's Alexander Rybak and his song "Fairytale", which received a record-breaking 387 points, the highest total score in Eurovision history by 95 points. (The highest win to date was Finland with 292 points.) Second place went to Iceland, and third to Azerbaijan, fourth to Turkey and the United Kingdom taking 5th, seeing their best placing since 2002.
After criticism of the voting system after the 2007 Contest, changes in the voting procedure were made with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting while the format of the semi-finals remained the same. Forty-two countries participated in the contest; Slovakia announced that it would return to the contest, while San Marino withdrew due to financial issues. Latvia and Georgia originally announced their intention to withdraw, but it was later stated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) that both countries would indeed participate. However, Georgia later decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of contest rules.
Venue
The contest was held in Russia following its victory in the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia, with Dima Bilan's "Believe". Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, stated that the contest would be held in Moscow.
It was proposed by Channel One that the contest be held in Moscow's Olympic Indoor Arena, and this proposal was evaluated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and confirmed on 13 September 2008. The Director-General of the venue, Vladimir Churilin, refuted rumours of emergency reconstruction of the building, saying: "It will not be required for the Eurovision Song Contest. We now can take up to 25 thousand spectators."
Visual design
Host broadcaster Channel One presented the sub-logo and theme for the 2009 contest on 30 January 2009. The sub-logo is based upon a "Fantasy Bird", which can be used with many colours. As in previous years, the sub-logo was presented alongside the generic logo. 2009 was the first year since 2001 that there was no slogan for the contest.
The stage was designed by New York-based set designer John Casey, and was based around the theme of contemporary Russian avant-garde. Casey, who had previously designed the stage for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 in Dublin, was also involved in design teams for the 1994 and 1995 contests. He explained that "even before worked with the Russians on the TEFI Awards in Moscow in 1998, was inspired by and drawn to art from the Russian Avant Garde period, especially the constructivists... tried to come up with a theatrical design for the contest that incorporates Russian avant-garde art into a contemporary setting, almost entirely made up of different types of LED screens." Casey explained that together, the various LED shapes form the finished product. Furthermore, large sections of the stage have the ability to move, including the circular central portion of curved LED screens which can be moved to effect and allows for each song to have a different feel.
The postcards (short videos between the acts) were as follows:
- Miss World 2008, Ksenia Sukhinova appeared;
- A group of famous buildings, monuments and landscapes from the corresponding country were shown, similar to 3-D pages of a book;
- Sukhinova reappeared wearing a hat comprising the above (as well as a different hairstyle each time) and a T-shirt with the colours of the country's flag. On the right the ESC 2009 logo appeared with the name of the country;
- Finally a phrase in transliterated Russian and its English translation were shown (e.g. Spasibo and Thank You).
Participating countries
Following the release of the final participants list by the EBU, 42 countries confirmed their participation in the 2009 contest, including Slovakia, which returned to the contest after 11 years.
Georgia originally announced that it was to withdraw from the contest due to the 2008 South Ossetia war in protest of the foreign policies of Russia, but later decided to return to the contest, inspired by its win at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008, as well as Russia's 12 points to it in the same contest. The country eventually withdrew from the contest due to its entry being deemed to contain political references.
Rumours arose surrounding the participation and return of San Marino and Monaco. Télé Monte Carlo (TMC), the Monegasque broadcaster, confirmed that there were talks with the EBU over a Monegasque return to the 2009 contest. At the same time, rumours spread that San Marino's broadcaster, Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino (SMRTV), would withdraw from the contest due to poor placing at the 2008 contest. In the end, after originally confirming their intent to participate in Moscow, SMRTV was forced to withdraw from the event due to financial difficulties that prevented a second entry.
The Latvian broadcaster, Latvijas Televīzija (LTV), had reportedly withdrawn from the 2009 contest on 17 December 2008, three days after the final participation deadline. This came about due to budget cuts of over 2 million lati (2.8 million euros) from the LTV budget, hindering their ability to pay the participation fee. LTV confirmed that they had informed the EBU of their intent to withdraw based solely on financial difficulties. LTV then went into discussions with the EBU in an attempt to find a solution that would keep the country in the Contest. On 20 December 2008, LTV announced that it would be withdrawing from the contest, and that both the EBU and Channel One had agreed not to force a financial penalty on the late withdrawal of the broadcaster from the 2009 contest. LTV also announced its intent to be at the 2010 contest. However, on 12 January 2009, it was announced that Latvia would participate in the 2009 contest.
Each country chose its entry for the contest through its own selection process. Some countries selected their entry through an internal selection, where the representing network chose both the song and artist, while others held national finals where the public chose the song, the artist, or both. By the completion of the 2009 selection processes, two countries had chosen artists who had previously participated in the contest. Returning artists included Chiara, who represented Malta in 1998 and 2005, and Sakis Rouvas, who represented Greece in 2004. Friðrik Ómar, part of the Euroband duo in 2008, was part of the choir in Iceland's entry.
Template:2009 Eurovision Song Contest entries
Format
The contest final took place on 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia with two semi-finals preceding it on 12 and 14 May. Thirty-seven countries participated in one of the two semi-finals of the contest, with the "Big Four" countries (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the host pre-qualified for the final. In addition to those pre-qualified, the final also included the ten selected countries from each semi-final, making a total of twenty-five participants.
A discussion on changes to the format of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest had taken place at a EBU meeting in Athens, Greece in June 2008 where a proposal was made that could have resulted in the "Big Four" losing their automatic place in the final of the contest. However, it was confirmed that the "Big Four" countries would continue to automatically qualify for the final at the 2009 contest.
Voting
See also: Voting at the Eurovision Song Contest and List of Jurors of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009In response to some broadcasters' continued complaints about politically charged, neighbourly and diaspora voting, the EBU evaluated the voting procedure used in the contest, with the possibility of a change in the voting system for 2009. Contest organisers sent a questionnaire regarding the voting system to participating broadcasters, and a reference group incorporated the responses into their suggestions for next year's format. Telewizja Polska (TVP), the Polish broadcaster, suggested that an international jury similar to the one used in the 2008 Eurovision Dance Contest be introduced in the Eurovision Song Contest to lessen the impact of neighbourly voting and place more emphasis on the artistic value of the song. A jury would lead to less political and diaspora voting as the jury members, mandated to be music industry experts, would also have a say in addition to "random members of the public".
It was decided that for the contest final, each country's votes would be decided by a combination of 50% televoting results and 50% national jury. The method of selecting the semi-final qualifiers remained the same for the most part, with nine countries, instead of the ten as in years past, qualifying from each semi-final based on the televoting results. For the tenth qualifier from each semi-final, the highest placed country on the back-up jury scoreboard that had not already qualified, was chosen for the final. At the final, each country combined their 1-12 points from the televote with their 1-12 jury points to create their "national scorecard". The country with the most points received 12 points, the second placed country received 10 points and so on. If a tie arose, the song with the higher televote position was given the advantage and the higher point value. National juries were originally phased out of the contest beginning in 1997, with televoting becoming mandatory for nearly all participants since 2003.
Edgar Böhm, director of entertainment for Austria's public broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), has stated that the 2008 format with two semi-finals "still incorporates a mix of countries who will be politically favoured in the voting process," and "that, unless a clear guideline as to how the semifinals are organised is made by the EBU, Austria will not be taking part in Moscow 2009." Despite the inclusion of jury voting in the final, Austria did not return to the contest in 2009.
Pot allocations
On Friday 30 January 2009, the draw to decide which countries will appear in either the first or second semi-final took place. Participating countries were separated into six pots as determined by voting patterns in previous contests. A draw then took place from the six pots to determine which countries would participate in the first semi-final or second semi-final. It was also determined that Germany and the United Kingdom would vote in the first semi-final, while France, Russia and Spain would vote in the second semi-final. The draw for the running order of the semi-finals, finals, and the order of voting, occurred on 16 March 2009.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 |
---|---|---|
Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
Results
Semi-final countries
Thirty-seven countries participated in one of the two semi-finals of the contest. The semi-final allocation draw took place on 30 January 2009, while the draw for the running order was held on 16 March 2009.
Semi-final 1
- The first semi final took place in Moscow on 12 May.
- The United Kingdom and Germany voted in this semi-final.
- Flax denotes the entry chosen by the jury to go to the final.
Semi-final 2
- The second semi final took place in Moscow on 14 May.
- France and Russia voted in this semi-final. Spain was also scheduled to televote in this semi-final, but due to scheduling errors at TVE, the semi-final was aired late and Spanish viewers were not able to vote, so the Spanish jury's vote was used instead.
- Flax denotes the entry chosen by the jury to go to the final.
Final
The finalists were:
- The "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom).
- The host country, Russia.
- The top nine countries from the first semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries.
- The top nine countries from the second semi-final plus one wildcard from the juries.
The final took place in Moscow on 16 May at 23:00 MST (19:00 UTC) and was won by Norway.
Voting during the final
Countries revealed their votes in the following order:
Scoreboards
In this year's Eurovision Song Contest there were a few glitches out of the 84 total televote counts from the two semi finals and Grand final.
Semi-final 1
- No problems were reported in the first Eurovision Song Contest semi final.
Semi-final 2
- In the second semi final, Spain's and Albania's delays in broadcasting the show meant that their results were provided by the back-up juries.
Final
- In the Grand Final, Hungarian televotes could not be counted due to a technical problem, but SMS voting was ok, which were used to provide the public voting scores.
- A technical mistake from the local Norwegian telephone operator meant that both the telephone and SMS votes were unable to be counted. As a result, Norway's jury vote was used.
12 points
Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points each country awarded to another in the final:
N. | Recipient nation | Voting nation |
---|---|---|
16 | Norway | Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine |
6 | Turkey | Azerbaijan, Belgium, France, Macedonia, Switzerland, United Kingdom |
3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia |
Greece | Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus | |
Iceland | Ireland, Malta, Norway | |
2 | Estonia | Finland, Slovakia |
Moldova | Portugal, Romania | |
1 | Armenia | Czech Republic |
Azerbaijan | Turkey | |
Croatia | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
Romania | Moldova | |
Russia | Armenia | |
Spain | Andorra | |
United Kingdom | Greece |
Commentators
Commentators for participating countries
The commentators of the 42 participating countries are as follows:
Commentators for non-participating countries
The commentators of the non-participating countries are:
Country | SF1/SF2/Final | Commentator(s) |
---|---|---|
Australia | All | Julia Zemiro |
Sam Pang | ||
New Zealand | - | |
- |
Broadcasting
- Australia
- Although Australia is not eligible to enter, the contest was broadcast on Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as in previous years. The first semi-final was broadcast on Friday 15 May 2009, the second semi-final on Saturday 16 May 2009, and the final on Sunday 17 May 2009, with all shows broadcast at 19:30 local time (09:30 UTC). This year, instead of Terry Wogan who commentated previous Eurovisions for Australia, the broadcaster sent its own commentators, Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang, who will also host a number of 'Countdown to Eurovision' style shows, in the days leading up to the contest being aired.
- SBS broadcast the Junior Eurovision and Eurovision Dance Contests for 2008 before the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. The Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 was broadcast on SBS on Wednesday 6 May 2009 at 13:00 local time (03:00 UTC), while the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was broadcast on Wednesday 13 May at 13:00 local time (03:00 UTC). SBS was also broadcasting the EBU Eurovision Countdown shows on 13, 14 and 15 May 2009 at 17:30 local time (07:30 UTC) before the semi-finals and final.
- Austria
- Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) had confirmed Austrian broadcasting details for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. Both semi-finals were broadcast on ORF on a time delay, beginning past midnight CET. A song presentation was broadcast on the night of the final, before broadcasting live the voting in the final. The entire Eurovision final was broadcast later that night. In all three shows the commentator was Hitradio Ö3 radio presenter Benny Hörtnagl.
- New Zealand
- Although New Zealand was not eligible to enter, the final of the contest was broadcast on Triangle TV's satellite channel STRATOS on 17 May 2009. They also did a compilation of the two 2008 semi-finals on 3 May 2009 and the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 final on 10 May 2009. This will be the first time in 30 years that the contest has been broadcast in New Zealand. The 2009 final was broadcast in local prime time, about 10 hours after the show has finished in Moscow.
- Template:Country data World
- A commentated live broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest was available worldwide via satellite by broadcaster streams such as Croatia's HRT Sat, Macedonia's MKTV Sat, Serbia's RTS Sat. Additionally, the official Eurovision Song Contest website also provided a live stream without commentary via the peer to peer medium Octoshape.
Controversies
Azerbaijan and Armenia
A series of controversies between Armenia and Azerbaijan unfolded throughout the semi-finals and final. During the semi-finals, the introductory "postcard" leading into the Armenian performance depicted, amongst other monuments, We Are Our Mountains, a statue located in Stepanakert, capital city of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic which is a de-jure part of Azerbaijan. After an official complaint by Azerbaijan, the video clip was edited out for the broadcast of the final. However, in retaliation the presenter of the Armenian votes, Sirusho, held up a clipboard with the monument's picture on it as she read off the votes, and in the background a screen in the Yerevan's main square could be seen to display the monument. Azerbaijan's "postcard" depicted the Maqbaratoshoara and Segonbad monuments, symbols of the cities of Tabriz and Urumieh, in Iran's Azerbaijan region. Armenian media complained that while Eurovision forbade display of an Armenian monument located in Karabakh after the Azerbaijani protest, it allowed Azerbaijan's inclusion of the Iranian monuments. Despite the controversy, 1,065 Armenians voted for the Azerbaijani entry and Armenia gave Azerbaijan one point. A total of 43 Azerbaijanis voted for the Armenian entry.
There were also allegations that the Azeri broadcast had failed to show an image of the Armenian representatives, with another contestant's entry shown instead, and that no number had been shown for the public to call and vote for the Armenian song. However, Azerbaijani television denied these allegations and presented a video of the Armenian entry's performance airing on ITV which showed the Armenian entry and the voting number. The EBU released a statement in late May saying that any possible sanctions against Azerbaijan would be decided by June. As of August 2009, no sanctions have been announced.
After the finish of Eurovision 2009, some Belarusian media reported that unknown people had allegedly paid students from Belarus to vote for Azerbaijan in the contest, and had even transported them to the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in 10 buses. The cost of this alleged action was claimed to be about 55 million rubles. They purportedly voted for Azerbaijan using Belarusian SIM cards, and then received Lithuanian cards to repeat the process. The Azerbaijani entry "Always" received high votes from Belarus (10) and Lithuania (5), being even ahead of Russia in Belarus. The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Belarus, Natik Baghirov, said that he knew nothing about the action, and the member of the Belarusian "Eurovision" jury Syarhei Malinouski doubted that the trip to the Belarusian border took place, calling it a "stupid rumor". However, European Radio for Belarus had an unofficial confirmation from the Minsk auto parks.
In August 2009 a number of Azerbaijanis who had voted for Armenia's entry during the contest were summoned for questioning at the Ministry of National Security in Baku, during which they were accused of being "unpatriotic" and "a potential security threat". One of those summoned later said that he was told by his interogators that they had the names and addresses of all 43 Azerbaijanis who had voted for Armenia.
Broadcast delays in Spain
Template:Wikinewshas Due to its commitments to broadcast the Madrid Open tennis tournament, Spain's public broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE) broadcast the second semi-final on a tape delay on its second channel TVE2 approximately 66 minutes after the show began in Moscow, and used a backup jury rather than televoting to decide its votes. Due to another conflict of interest, Spain had already switched to broadcast the second semi-final rather than the first, which also led to criticisms from the delegations of Andorra and Portugal, which stated that they would have experienced an advantage from a Spanish vote due to their similar cultural backgrounds.
The day after the semifinal, El Mundo speculated that the delay may had been done on purpose in order to prevent Spain from winning and hosting the contest, speculating that RTVE would not be prepared to host the contest if Spain were to win. A statement in ABC had cited technical difficulties for the delay.
After the semi-finals, the EBU announced that Spain would face sanctions for their actions during the lead-up to the 2010 contest, and that Spain's partitipation in Moscow would not be affected. During the finals, the Spanish entry did not perform well, finishing tied for second-last place with Lithuania, both one point ahead of Finland, who finished last with 22 points.
Georgia: "We Don't Wanna Put In"
After being placed to compete in the first semi-final on 12 May, a national final was held in Georgia to select its entry. The selected entry, Stefane & 3G with "We Don't Wanna Put In" gained coverage and controversy due to perceived political connotations within its lyrics relating to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The EBU rejected the song due to these political connotations, calling it a clear breach of the contest's rules. The EBU then asked the Georgian broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB) on 10 March to change either the lyrics of the song, or to select a new song to compete for the country. GPB refused to change the lyrics or the song, claiming that the song contained no political references, and that the rejection by the EBU was due to political pressure from Russia. As such, GPB withdrew Georgia from the contest on 11 March. The EBU never made a comment on the country's withdrawal, and it is unknown how Georgia's withdrawal may affect its future participation. On 11 May the band admitted the political content of the song and their intention was just to embarrass Putin in Moscow. They also claim that the EBU banned their message from the competition.
LGBT protests
Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekseev used the Contest's presence in Russia as a platform for promoting the country's position on the rights of LGBT people, countering Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov's view that homosexuality is "satanic". Alekseev announced that the 2009 edition of Moscow Pride, the city's annual gay pride parade, would coincide with the finals on 16 May, the day before the International Day Against Homophobia. The parade was also renamed "Slavic Pride", to promote gay rights and culture across the entire Slavic region of Europe. The parade was denied authorisation by Moscow officials on the basis that it would "destroy morals in society" and statements were issued stating that protesters would be treated "toughly", and that "tough measures" would be faced by anyone joining the march.
The rally was broken up by Moscow police, and 20 protesters were arrested including Nikolai Alekseev and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who exclaimed that "this shows the Russian people are not free" as he was taken away by police. Sweden's representative Malena Ernman supported the cause saying that she is not homosexual herself but would be proud to call herself gay to support her fans, stating that she was sad that the Moscow government would not allow a "tribute to love" to occur. The Swedish spokesperson Sarah Dawn Finer wore a rainbow coloured dog tag in solidarity whilst reading the votes (see Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)).The winner of the contest, Norway's Alexander Rybak, also referred to the controversy in an interview when he called the Eurovision Song Contest itself the "biggest gay parade".
Notes
- A ^ "Düm Tek Tek" is onomatopoeic for the sound generated by a drum; with "boom bang bang" being an English equivalent. Graham Norton, the commentator for the BBC broadcast of the contest said that "Düm Tek Tek" also meant "With Every Heartbeat".
- B ^ Norway was originally scheduled to announce its votes as the 17th country, but instead voted 42nd (last). This was due to a technical error, and only the jury's votes were appointed.
References
- "Exclusive: The hosts of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- Daily Mail Reporter (2009-05-17). "Norway's baby-faced fiddler wins Eurovision... but Jade Ewen does the UK proud and turns the tide of tactical voting". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
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(help) - ^ Murray, Gavin (2009-01-12). "Eurovision 2009: 43 countries for Moscow". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
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(help) - ^ "Russia hails Eurovision success as 'another triumph'". Yahoo! News. 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
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(help) - ^ Hondal, Víctor (2008-07-21). "Prime Minister clears doubts up, Putin: "Eurovision will be held in Moscow"". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
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(help) - ^ Bakker, Sietse (2008-09-13). "Moscow accepted as 2009 Host City!". EBU. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
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(help) - "Eurovision Venue". ESCKaz. 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
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(help) - ^ Laufer, Gil (2009-01-30). "ESC 2009 Theme & Tickets information announced". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
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(help) - Press Release (2009-02-27). "Look out to the stage for Moscow". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
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(help) - Hondal, Victor (2008-09-24). "Slovakia to return in 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
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(help) - "Georgian broadcaster confirms Eurovision boycott". ESCKaz. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
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(help) - Tongeren, Mario van (2008-08-28). "GPB officially withdraws from Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-08-28). "Georgia will not participate in Moscow Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
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(help) - Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-12-19). "Georgia: GPB proudly changes decision and enters Eurovision 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
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(help) - Floras, Stella (2008-12-19). "Georgia returns to the Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Shegrikyan, Zaven (2009-03-11). "Georgia withdraws from Eurovision Song Contest 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
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(help) - Kuipers, Michael (2008-11-19). "Monaco back in Moscow?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
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(help) - Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-11-27). "San Marino & Monaco out?". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-12-08). "San Marino not quitting Eurovision!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-12-18). "San Marino leaves Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
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(help) - Supranavicius, Alekas (2008-12-17). "Latvia: LTV withdrew or just cancelled the national selection?". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-12-18). "Latvia confirms withdrawal request". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
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(help) - "Latvia: LTV confirms withdrawal from the 2009 Eurovision edition". Oikotimes. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
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(help) - Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-12-20). "Latvia: LTV officially out and confirmed". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-12-20). "Latvia Eurovision withdrawal accepted". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
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(help) - Murray, Gavin (2008-05-21). "Eurovision 2009: Provisional dates announced". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
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(help) - Murray, Gavin (2008-05-28). "Big 4 (France; Germany; Spain; United Kingdom): May lose automatic place in Eurovision final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2008-09-14). "Eurovision 'Big Four' final spots confirmed". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
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(help) - Klier, Marcus. "Exclusive: A new voting procedure for Eurovision?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
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(help) - Floras, Stella. "Poland: TVP proposes international jury for Eurovision". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2009-02-03). "Has Eurovision changed perceptions?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-03.
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(help) - ^ Viniker, Barry (2008-12-08). "EBU confirms 50/50 vote for Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
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(help) - Bakker, Sietse (2008-09-14). "Televoting/jury mix in 2009 Final voting". EBU. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
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(help) - Floras, Stella (2008-09-14). "Eurovision 2009: The juries are back in the final!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
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(help) - Solloso, Jaime. "Austria to not be in Moscow 2009?". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
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(help) - Kuipers, Michael (2008-06-03). "Austria: ORF will decide in the Autumn". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
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(help) - Klier, Marcus (2008-09-18). "Austria: No return to Eurovision in 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
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(help) - Murray, Gavin (2009-01-02). "Eurovision 2009: Semi-Finals draw on January 30th". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
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(help) - ^ Bakker, Sietse (2009-01-30). "LIVE: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw". EBU. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
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(help) - ^ Konstantopolus, Fotis (2009-01-30). "LIVE FROM MOSCOW, THE ALLOCATION DRAW". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
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(help) - Siim, Jarmo (2009-03-16). "Results: Draw for the Running Order!". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
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(help) - Klier, Marcus (2009-03-16). "Live: Draw of the running order". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
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(help) - Bakker, Sietse (2009-04-28). "Spain to vote in second Semi-Final". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
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(help) - ^ "Iceland's profile at Eurovision.tv". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
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(help) - ^ "Interview". ESCKaz. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
You're going to perform in Bosnian on Eurovision stage. Was it natural or difficult decision? It is natural that we sing on our language since it is the best way to express.
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(help) - ^ "Regina - Bistra voda". The Diggiloo Thrush. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
Language: Bosnian
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(help) - Bakker, Sietse (2009-04-28). "Spain to vote in second Semi-Final". EBU. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
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(help) - TVE no emite en directo la segunda semifinal de Eurovisión - onoweb.net
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(help) - Siim, Jarmo (2009-02-12). "Azerbaijan to send a duet to Eurovision". EBU. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
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(help) - Siim, Jarmo (2009-02-12). "Azerbaijan to send a duet to Eurovision". EBU. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
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(help) - Schacht, Andreas (2009-02-09). "Germany selects Alex Swings Oscar Sings internally!". EBU. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
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(help) - ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2009 - Final". EBU. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
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(help) - Klier, Marcus (2009-03-16). "Live: Draw of the running order". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
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(help) - Viniker, Barry (2009-05-22). "Winning country's televote glitch". esctoday.com. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
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(help) - ^ Aysel & Arash - Eurovision 2009 commentators!!!
- "Finally! Eurovision commentary in English – in Cyprus". Cyprus-Mail.com. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
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- New Commentators For Swedish Broadcaster SVT For Eurovision Song Contest 2009
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- ^ Australia & New Zealand: Full Eurovision schedule
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(help) - Knox, David (2009-04-16). "Airdate: Eurovision 2009". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
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(help) - Klier, Marcus (2009-04-09). "Austria: Confirmed - Only the voting will be broadcast live". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
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(help) - Costa, Nelson (2009-04-09). "Austria: Only the voting of the 2009 Eurovision to be broadcast live". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
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(help) - "Eurovision broadcast returns to New Zealand after 30 years". ESCToday. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
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(help) - "EUROSONG 2009. - finalna večer". HRT Forum. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
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(help) - "Мартин и Стефан во љубов со сестрите Инге и Ануш од Ерменија?". Vest. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
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(help) - "ПЕСМА ЕВРОВИЗИЈЕ". Radio Television Serbia. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
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(help) - Deasy, Kristin (2009-05-15). "Eurovision: A Melting-Pot Contest, Where Native Doesn't Always Mean Best". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
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(help) - "Ayandeh News, Haraj Sarmaayeh Farhangi Tabriz dar Eurovision 2009 (Putting the cultural heritage of Tabriz on Sale at Eurovision 2009), 11 Khordad 1388 (June 1, 2009), accessed: June 3, 2009 at
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(help) - Leonard, Peter (May 5, 2009). "Russian gays risk Eurovision confrontation". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
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suggested) (help) - "Eurovision: is the world's campest contest ready to get serious?". Lesbilicious. May 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
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(help)
External links
- Eurovision Song Contest official site
- Lyrics from Diggiloo Thrush
Template:2009 Eurovision Songs
Categories: