The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the 2008 contest with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and a final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Russian model Natalia Vodianova and television presenter Andrey Malakhov, while the final was presented by Russian television presenter Ivan Urgant and former Russian contestant Alsou Abramova, becoming the first and to date only time that two different sets of presenters had hosted the semi-finals and finals.
Forty-two countries participated in the contest, down one from the record forty-three the year before. Slovakia returned to the contest for the first time since 1998, while San Marino did not enter due to financial issues. Latvia and Georgia originally announced their intention not to participate, but it was later stated by the EBU that both countries would participate. However, Georgia later decided to withdraw after the EBU rejected its selected song as being a breach of the contest's rules.
The winner was Norway with the song "Fairytale", performed and written by Alexander Rybak. The song won both the jury vote and televote and received 387 points out of a possible 492, at the time the highest total score in the history of the contest. Iceland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the United Kingdom rounded out the top five, with the latter achieving its best placing since 2002. Iceland's second-place finish was the country's best placing in a decade.
After criticism of the voting system in 2007, changes in the voting procedure were finally made prior to this contest, with the re-introduction of a national jury alongside televoting for the final, while the format of the semi-finals remained the same.
Prior to the contest, the EBU announced that the voting system used in the semi-finals would change from previous years to balance jury voting with televoting. A return of accompaniment by orchestra was also proposed, but ultimately did not occur.
Results[]
First semi-final[]
Countries in moccasin are the qualifiers and the country in cyan is the back-up jury qualifier.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | RÚV | Yohanna | "Is It True" | 174 |
| 2 | Turkey | TRT | Hadise | "Düm Tek Tek" | 172 |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Regina | "Bistra voda" | 125 |
| 4 | Sweden | SVT | Malena Ernman | "La Voix" | 105 |
| 5 | Armenia | AMPTV | Inga and Anush | "Jan Jan" (Ջան Ջան) | 99 |
| 6 | Malta | PBS | Chiara | "What If We" | 86 |
| 7 | Israel | IBA | Noa and Mira Awad | "There Must Be Another Way" | 75 |
| 8 | Portugal | RTP | Flor-de-Lis | "Todas as ruas do amor" | 70 |
| 9 | Romania | TVR | Elena | "The Balkan Girls" | 67 |
| 10 | Macedonia | MRT | Next Time | "Nešto što kje ostane" (Нешто што ќе остане) | 45 |
| 11 | Montenegro | RTCG | Andrea Demirović | "Just Get Out of My Life" | 44 |
| 12 | Finland | YLE | Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | 42 |
| 13 | Belarus | BTRC | Petr Elfimov | "Eyes That Never Lie" | 25 |
| 14 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Lovebugs | "The Highest Heights" | 15 |
| 15 | Andorra | RTVA | Susanne Georgi | "La teva decisió (Get a Life)" | 8 |
| 16 | Bulgaria | BNT | Krassimir Avramov | "Illusion" | 7 |
| 17 | Belgium | RTBF | Copycat | "Copycat" | 1 |
| 18 | Czech Republic | ČT | Gipsy.cz | "Aven Romale" | 0 |
Second semi-final[]
Countries in moccasin are the qualifiers and the country in cyan is the back-up jury qualifier.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | NRK | Alexander Rybak | "Fairytale" | 201 |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Aysel and Arash | "Always" | 180 |
| 3 | Estonia | ERR | Urban Symphony | "Rändajad" | 115 |
| 4 | Greece | ERT | Sakis Rouvas | "This Is Our Night" | 110 |
| 5 | Moldova | TRM | Nelly Ciobanu | "Hora din Moldova" | 106 |
| 6 | Ukraine | NTU | Svetlana Loboda | "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" | 80 |
| 7 | Albania | RTSH | Kejsi Tola | "Carry Me in Your Dreams" | 73 |
| 8 | Denmark | DR | Brinck | "Believe Again" | 69 |
| 9 | Lithuania | LRT | Sasha Son | "Love" | 66 |
| 10 | Serbia | RTS | Marko Kon and Milaan | "Cipela" (Ципела) | 60 |
| 11 | Ireland | RTÉ | Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy | "Et Cetera" | 52 |
| 12 | Poland | TVP | Lidia Kopania | "I Don't Wanna Leave" | 43 |
| 13 | Croatia | HRT | Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea | "Lijepa Tena" | 33 |
| 14 | Cyprus | CyBC | Christina Metaxa | "Firefly" | 32 |
| 15 | Hungary | MTV | Zoli Ádok | "Dance with Me" | 16 |
| 16 | Slovenia | RTVSLO | Quartissimo feat. Martina | "Love Symphony" | 14 |
| 17 | Netherlands | NOS | The Toppers | "Shine" | 11 |
| 18 | Slovakia | RTVS | Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková | "Leť tmou" | 8 |
| 19 | Latvia | LTV | Intars Busulis | "Probka" (Пробка) | 7 |
Finals[]
Country in gold is the winning entry, the country in silver is the host country, and the countries in lime are the "Big 4" countries which are rewarded with automatic spots in the finals.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Norway | NRK | Alexander Rybak | "Fairytale" | 387 |
| 02 | Iceland | RÚV | Yohanna | "Is It True?" | 218 |
| 03 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Aysel and Arash | "Always" | 207 |
| 04 | Turkey | TRT | Hadise | "Düm Tek Tek" | 177 |
| 05 | United Kingdom | BBC | Jade Ewen | "It's My Time" | 173 |
| 06 | Estonia | ERR | Urban Symphony | "Rändajad" | 129 |
| 07 | Greece | ERT | Sakis Rouvas | "This Is Our Night" | 120 |
| 08 | France | France Télévisions | Patricia Kaas | "Et s'il fallait le faire" | 107 |
| 09 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Regina | "Bistra voda" | 106 |
| 10 | Armenia | AMPTV | Inga and Anush | "Jan Jan" (Ջան Ջան) | 92 |
| 11 | Russia | Channel One | Anastasia Prikhodko | "Mamo" (Мамо) | 91 |
| 12 | Ukraine | NTU | Svetlana Loboda | "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" | 76 |
| 13 | Denmark | DR | Brinck | "Believe Again" | 74 |
| 14 | Moldova | TRM | Nelly Ciobanu | "Hora din Moldova" | 69 |
| 15 | Portugal | RTP | Flor-de-Lis | "Todas as ruas do amor" | 57 |
| 16 | Israel | IBA | Noa and Mira Awad | "There Must Be Another Way" | 53 |
| 17 | Albania | RTSH | Kejsi Tola | "Carry Me in Your Dreams" | 48 |
| 18 | Croatia | HRT | Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea | "Lijepa Tena" | 45 |
| 19 | Romania | TVR | Elena | "The Balkan Girls" | 40 |
| 20 | Germany | ARD/NDR | Alex Swings Oscar Sings! | "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" | 35 |
| 21 | Sweden | SVT | Malena Ernman | "La Voix" | 33 |
| 22 | Malta | PBS | Chiara | "What If We" | 31 |
| 23 | Lithuania | LRT | Sasha Son | "Love" | 23 |
| 24 | Spain | RTVE | Soraya Arnelas | "La noche es para mí" | 23 |
| 25 | Finland | YLE | Waldo's People | "Lose Control" | 22 |
Awards[]
Marcel Bezençon Awards[]
- Artistic Award - "Et s'il fallait le faire" by Patricia Kaas (France)
- Composers Award - "Bistra voda" by Regina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Press Award - "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak (Norway)
OGAE Poll[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | Alexander Rybak | "Fairytale" | 323 |
| 2 | France | Patricia Kaas | "Et s'il fallait le faire" | 184 |
| 3 | Sweden | Malena Ernman | "La Voix" | 172 |
| 4 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Regina | "Bistra voda" | 152 |
| 5 | Spain | Soraya Arnelas | "La noche es para mí" | 132 |
Barbara Dex Award[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary | Zoli Ádok | "Dance with Me" |
Broadcast[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | RTSH | Leon Menkshi | all shows | Leon Menkshi |
| Andorra | TVA | Meri Picart | Unknown | Brigits García |
| Armenia | AMPTV | Khoren Levonyan | all shows | Sirusho |
| Azerbaijan | İTV | Leyla Aliyeva, Isa Melikov | Unknown | Husniyya Maharramova |
| Aysel Teymurzadeh | first semi-finals | |||
| Belarus | Belarus-1 | Denis Kurian, Alexander Tikhanovich | all shows | Ekaterina Litvinova |
| Belgium (French) | La Une, RTBF Sat | Jean-Pierre Hautier, Jean-Louis Lahaye | all shows | Maureen Louys |
| Belgium (Dutch) | één | Anja Daems, André Vermeulen | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHT1, BH Radio 1 | Dejan Kukrić | all shows | Elvir Laković Laka |
| Bulgaria | BNT | Elena Rosberg, Georgi Kushvaliev | Unknown | Yoanna Dragneva |
| Croatia | HRT 2 | Duško Čurlić | semi-finals | Mila Horvat |
| HRT 1 | finals | |||
| Cyprus | RIK 1 | Melina Karageorgiou | all shows | Sophia Paraskeva |
| RIK Deftero | Nathan Morley | |||
| Czech Republic | ČT1 | Jan Rejžek | first semi-finals and finals | Petra Šubrtová |
| ČT2 | second semi-finals | |||
| Denmark | DR1 | Nikolaj Molbech | all shows | Felix Smith |
| Estonia | ETV | Marko Reikop | all shows | Laura Põldvere |
| Olav Osolin | finals | |||
| Finland (Finnish) | YLE TV2 | Jaana Pelkonen, Mikko Peltola, Asko Murtomäki | all shows | Jari Sillanpää |
| YLE Radio Suomi | Sanna Kojo, Jorma Hietamäki | |||
| Finland (Swedish) | YLE TV2 | Thomas Larsson | ||
| France | France 4 | Peggy Olmi, Yann Renoard | semi-finals | Yann Renoard |
| France 3 | Julien Courbet, Cyril Hanouna | finals | ||
| Germany | Phoenix | Tim Frühling | first semi-finals | Thomas Anders |
| NDR Fernsehen | second semi-finals | |||
| Das Erste | finals | |||
| Greece | NET | Betty and Mathildi Maggira | Unknown | Alexis Kostalas |
| Second Programme | Maria Kozakou | Unknown | ||
| Hungary | m1 | Gábor Gundel Takács | all shows | Éva Novodomszky |
| Iceland | Sjónvarpið, Rás 2 | Sigmar Guðmundsson | all shows | Þóra Tómasdóttir |
| Ireland | RTÉ Two | Marty Whelan | semi-finals | Derek Mooney |
| RTÉ One | finals | |||
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Maxi | second semi-finals and finals | ||
| Israel | IBA | No commentator | Unknown | Ofer Nachshon |
| Latvia | LTV | Kārlis Streips | Unknown | Roberto Meloni |
| Lithuania | LRT | Darius Užkuraitis | Unknown | Ignas Krupavičius |
| Macedonia | MRT | Karolina Petkovska, Aleksandra Jovanovska | all shows | Frosina Josifovska |
| Malta | TVM | Valerie Vella | Unknown | Pauline Agius |
| Moldova | Moldova 1, TV Moldova Internațional | Rosalina Rusu, Andrei Sava | all shows | Sandu Leancă |
| Montenegro | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković, Tamara Ivanković | first semi-finals and finals | Jovana Vukčević |
| TVCG 2 | second semi-finals | |||
| TVCG MNE | all shows | |||
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Cornald Maas | all shows | Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen |
| Norway | NRK1 | Synnøve Svabø | all shows | Stian Barsnes-Simonsen |
| Poland | TVP1 | Artur Orzech | second semi-finals and finals | Radosław Brzózka |
| Portugal | RTP1, RTP Internacional | Hélder Reis | all shows | Helena Coelho |
| Romania | TVR | Unknown | Unknown | Alina Sorescu |
| Russia | Channel One | Yana Churikova | all shows | Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė |
| Alexey Manuylov | semi-finals | |||
| Philipp Kirkorov | finals | |||
| Serbia | RTS1, RTS Digital, RTS Sat | Dragan Ilić | first semi-finals | Jovana Janković |
| Duška Vučinić-Lučić | second semi-finals & finals | |||
| Slovakia | Dvojka | Roman Bomboš | all shows | Ľubomír Bajaník |
| Slovenia | SLO1 | Andrej Hofer | all shows | Peter Poles |
| Spain | La 2 | Joaquín Guzmán | semi-finals | Iñaki del Moral |
| La 1, TVE Internacional | finals | |||
| Sweden | SVT1 | Shirley Clamp, Edward af Sillén | all shows | Sarah Dawn Finer |
| Arash | first semi-finals | |||
| Sveriges Radio P4 | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | Unknown | ||
| Switzerland (German) | SF zwei | Sven Epiney | first semi-finals and finals | Cécile Bähler |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR 2 | Jean-Marc Richard | ||
| Nicolas Tanner | finals | |||
| Switzerland (Italian) | RSI La 2 | Sandy Altermatt | first semi-finals | |
| RSI La 1 | finals | |||
| Turkey | TRT 1 | Bülend Özveren | all shows | Meltem Ersan Yazgan |
| Ukraine | Pershyi Natsionalnyi | Timur Miroshnychenko | all shows | Marysya Horobets |
| United Kingdom | BBC Three | Paddy O'Connell, Sarah Cawood | semi-finals | Duncan James |
| BBC One | Graham Norton | finals | ||
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | SBS TV | Julia Zemiro, Sam Pang | all shows |
| Austria | ORF 1 | Benny Hörtnagl | all shows |
| New Zealand | Triangle Stratos | No commentator | all shows |
Broadcast notes[]
- Australia - SBS TV broadcast the semi-finals on 15 and 16 May 2009, and the final on 17 May 2009, with all shows broadcast deferred at 19:30 AEST (09:30 UTC).
- Austria - ORF 1 broadcast the first semi-final on 13 May 2009 at 00:40 CEST (12 May at 22:40 UTC), the second semi-final on 15 May 2009 at 00:20 CEST (14 May at 22:20 UTC), and the final at 23:00 CEST (21:00 UTC). The semi-finals were broadcast deferred while the final's voting segment was broadcast live and the performances of the final deferred at 00:20 CEST (22:20 UTC).
- Belgium - The second semi-finals were broadcast on La Une deferred at 22:30 CEST (20:30 UTC).
- Czech Republic - The second semi-finals were broadcast on ČT2 deferred on 15 May 2009 at 00:10 CEST (14 May at 22:10 UTC).
- New Zealand - Triangle Stratos broadcast the final deferred on 17 May 2009 at 19:30 NZST (07:30 UTC).
- Poland - The second semi-finals and finals were broadcast on TVP1 live, while a summary of the first semi-finals aired on delay on 13 May at 15:15 CEST (13:15 UTC).
- Portugal - The second semi-finals were broadcast deferred at 23:00 WEST (23:00 UTC).
- Spain - The first semi-finals were broadcast on RTVE.es live, while it was broadcast on La 2 deferred the same day. The second semi-finals were broadcast on La 2 on a tape delay by approximately 66 minutes due to overrun of the Madrid Open tennis tournament.