The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following Alexander Rybak's win at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia with the song "Fairytale". It was the third time Norway had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1986 and 1996. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), the contest was held at the Telenor Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 25 and 27 May, and the final on 29 May 2010. The three live shows were hosted by Erik Solbakken, Haddy N'jie and Nadia Hasnaoui.
Thirty-nine countries took part in the contest, with Georgia returning after its one-year absence. Meanwhile, Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Montenegro ceased their participation, mainly for reasons related to the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Lithuania originally announced its non-participation, but was later among the participants confirmed by the EBU.
The winner was Germany with the song "Satellite", performed by Lena and written by American Julie Frost and Denmark's John Gordon. The song won both the jury vote and televote and was Germany's second victory in the contest, following 1982. It was also its first win as a unified country. It was also the first win for one of the "Big Four" countries since the rule's introduction in 2000. Turkey, Romania, Denmark and Azerbaijan rounded out the top five. Romania, finishing third, equalled their best result from 2005, while further down the table, Georgia achieved their best result to date, finishing ninth. For the first time since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Sweden failed to qualify for the final. The last time Sweden was absent from a Eurovision final was in 1976.
The global financial crisis at the time, affected how the event was run; the host broadcaster NRK was forced to sell its broadcast rights for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to TV 2 and Viasat in order to finance the event.
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[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | VRT | Tom Dice | "Me and My Guitar" | 167 |
| 2 | Greece | ERT | Giorgos Alkaios and Friends | "Opa" (Ώπα) | 133 |
| 3 | Iceland | RÚV | Hera Björk | "Je ne sais quoi" | 123 |
| 4 | Portugal | RTP | Filipa Azevedo | "Há dias assim" | 89 |
| 5 | Serbia | RTS | Milan Stanković | "Ovo je Balkan" (Oво je Балкан) | 79 |
| 6 | Albania | RTSH | Juliana Pasha | "It's All About You" | 76 |
| 7 | Russia | VGTRK | Peter Nalitch and Friends | "Lost and Forgotten" | 74 |
| 8 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Vukašin Brajić | "Thunder and Lightning" | 59 |
| 9 | Belarus | BTRC | 3+2 feat. Robert Wells | "Butterflies" | 59 |
| 10 | Moldova | TRM | SunStroke Project and Olia Tira | "Run Away" | 52 |
| 11 | Finland | YLE | Kuunkuiskaajat | "Työlki ellää" | 49 |
| 12 | Malta | PBS | Thea Garrett | "My Dream" | 45 |
| 13 | Poland | TVP | Marcin Mroziński | "Legenda" | 44 |
| 14 | Estonia | ERR | Malcolm Lincoln | "Siren" | 39 |
| 15 | Macedonia | MRT | Gjoko Taneski (with uncredited live vocals by Billy Zver) |
"Jas ja imam silata" (Јас ја имам силата) | 37 |
| 16 | Slovakia | RTVS | Kristina | "Horehronie" | 24 |
| 17 | Latvia | LTV | Aisha | "What For?" | 11 |
Second semi-final[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turkey | TRT | maNga | "We Could Be The Same" | 118 |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Safura | "Drip Drop" | 113 |
| 3 | Georgia | GPB | Sofia Nizharadze | "Shine" | 106 |
| 4 | Romania | TVR | Paula Seling and Ovi | "Playing with Fire" | 104 |
| 5 | Denmark | DR | Chanée and N'evergreen | "In a Moment like This" | 101 |
| 6 | Armenia | AMPTV | Eva Rivas | "Apricot Stone" | 83 |
| 7 | Ukraine | NTU | Alyosha | "Sweet People" | 77 |
| 8 | Israel | IBA | Harel Skaat | "Milim" (מילים) | 71 |
| 9 | Ireland | RTÉ | Niamh Kavanagh | "It's for You" | 67 |
| 10 | Cyprus | CyBC | Jon Lilygreen and the Islanders | "Life Looks Better in Spring" | 67 |
| 11 | Sweden | SVT | Anna Bergendahl | "This Is My Life" | 62 |
| 12 | Lithuania | LRT | InCulto | "Eastern European Funk" | 44 |
| 13 | Croatia | HRT | Feminnem | "Lako je sve" | 33 |
| 14 | Netherlands | TROS | Sieneke | "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)" | 29 |
| 15 | Bulgaria | BNT | Miro | "Angel si ti" (Ангел си ти) | 19 |
| 16 | Slovenia | RTVSLO | Ansambel Žlindra and Kalamari | "Narodnozabavni rock" | 6 |
| 17 | Switzerland | SRG SSR idée suisse | Michael von der Heide | "Il pleut de l'or" | 2 |
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 | Germany | ARD/NDR | Lena | "Satellite" | 246 |
| 02 | Turkey | TRT | maNga | "We Could Be the Same" | 170 |
| 03 | Romania | TVR | Paula Seling and Ovi | "Playing with Fire" | 162 |
| 04 | Denmark | DR | Chanée and N'evergreen | "In A Moment Like This" | 149 |
| 05 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Safura | "Drip Drop" | 145 |
| 06 | Belgium | VRT | Tom Dice | "Me and My Guitar" | 143 |
| 07 | Armenia | AMPTV | Eva Rivas | "Apricot Stone" | 141 |
| 08 | Greece | ERT | Giorgos Alkaios and Friends | "Opa" (Ώπα) | 140 |
| 09 | Georgia | GPB | Sofia Nizharadze | "Shine" | 136 |
| 10 | Ukraine | NTU | Alyosha | "Sweet People" | 108 |
| 11 | Russia | VGTRK | Peter Nalitch and Friends | "Lost and Forgotten" | 90 |
| 12 | France | France Télévisions | Jessy Matador | "Allez Ola Olé" | 82 |
| 13 | Serbia | RTS | Milan Stanković | "Ovo je Balkan" (Oво je Балкан) | 72 |
| 14 | Israel | IBA | Harel Skaat | "Milim" (מילים) | 71 |
| 15 | Spain | RTVE | Daniel Diges | "Algo pequeñito" | 68 |
| 16 | Albania | RTSH | Juliana Pasha | "It's All About You" | 62 |
| 17 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Vukašin Brajić | "Thunder and Lightning" | 51 |
| 18 | Portugal | RTP | Filipa Azevedo | "Há dias assim" | 43 |
| 19 | Iceland | RÚV | Hera Björk | "Je ne sais quoi" | 41 |
| 20 | Norway | NRK | Didrik Solli-Tangen | "My Heart Is Yours" | 35 |
| 21 | Cyprus | CyBC | Jon Lilygreen and The Islanders | "Life Looks Better In Spring" | 27 |
| 22 | Moldova | TRM | SunStroke Project and Olia Tira | "Run Away" | 27 |
| 23 | Ireland | RTÉ | Niamh Kavanagh | "It's For You" | 25 |
| 24 | Belarus | BTRC | 3+2 feat Robert Wells | "Butterflies" | 18 |
| 25 | United Kingdom | BBC | Josh Dubovie | "That Sounds Good To Me" | 10 |
Awards[]
Marcel Bezençon Awards[]
- Artistic Award, Composers Award and Press Award - "Milim" (מילים) by Harel Skaat (Israel)
OGAE Poll[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | Chanée and N'evergreen | "In a Moment like This" | 220 |
| 2 | Israel | Harel Skaat | "Milim" | 177 |
| 3 | Germany | Lena | "Satellite" | 172 |
| 4 | Norway | Didrik Solli-Tangen | "My Heart Is Yours" | 146 |
| 5 | Iceland | Hera Björk | "Je ne sais quoi" | 130 |
Barbara Dex Award[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia | Milan Stanković | "Ovo je Balkan" |
| 2 | Moldova | SunStroke Project and Olia Tira | "Run Away" |
| 3 | Russia | Peter Nalitch and Friends | "Lost and Forgotten" |
| 4 | Latvia | Aisha | "What For?" |
| 5 | Armenia | Eva Rivas | "Apricot Stone" |
Broadcast[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | TVSH | Leon Menkshi | all shows | Leon Menkshi |
| Armenia | Armenia 1 | Hrachuhi Utmazyan, Khoren Levonyan | all shows | Nazeni Hovhannisyan |
| Azerbaijan | İctimai Television | Husniyya Maharramova | all shows | Tamilla Shirinova |
| Belarus | Belarus-1 | Denis Kurian | all shows | Aleksei Grishin |
| Belgium (French) | La Une | Jean-Pierre Hautier, Jean-Louis Lahaye | all shows | Katja Retsin |
| La Première | Patrick Duhamel, Corinne Boulangier | |||
| Belgium (Dutch) | één, één HD | André Vermeulen, Bart Peeters | ||
| Radio 2 | Sven Pichal, Michel Follet | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHT1 | Dejan Kukrić | all shows | Ivana Vidmar |
| Bulgaria | BNT, BNT Sat | Elena Rosberg, Georgi Kushvaliev | all shows | Desislava Dobreva |
| Croatia | HRT 2, HRT SAT | Duško Čurlić | semi-finals | Mila Horvat |
| HRT 1, HRT SAT | finals | |||
| Cyprus | RIK 1 | Melina Karageorgiou | all shows | Christina Metaxa |
| CyBC Radio 2 | Nathan Morley | |||
| Denmark | DR1, DR HD | Nikolaj Molbech | all shows | Bryan Rice |
| Estonia | ETV | Marko Reikop, Sven Lõhmus | all shows | Rolf Junior |
| Finland (Finnish) | YLE TV2 | Jaana Pelkonen, Asko Murtomäki | all shows | Johanna Pirttilahti |
| YLE Radio Suomi | Sanna Kojo, Jorma Hietamäki | |||
| Finland (Swedish) | YLE TV2 | Thomas Larsson | ||
| France | France 4 | Peggy Olmi, Yann Renoard | semi-finals | Audrey Chauveau |
| France 3 | Cyril Hanouna, Stéphane Bern | finals | ||
| Georgia | GPB | Sopho Altunashvili | all shows | Mariam Vashadze |
| Germany | Das Erste, Das Erste HD | Peter Urban | all shows | Hape Kerkeling |
| NDR 2 | Tim Frühling, Thomas Mohr | finals | ||
| Greece | NET, ERT World | Rika Vagiani | all shows | Alexis Kostalas |
| Second Programme | Maria Kozakou | |||
| Iceland | Sjónvarpið | Sigmar Guðmundsson | all shows | Yohanna |
| Ireland | RTÉ Two | Marty Whelan | semi-finals | Derek Mooney |
| RTÉ One | finals | |||
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Maxi | |||
| Israel | Channel 1, Hot HD, Yes HD | No commentator | all shows | Ofer Nachshon |
| Latvia | LTV | Kārlis Streips | all shows | Kārlis Būmeisters |
| Lithuania | LRT | Darius Užkuraitis | all shows | Giedrius Masalskis |
| Macedonia | MRT | Karolina Petkovska | all shows | Maja Daniels |
| Malta | TVM | Valerie Vella | all shows | Chiara Siracusa |
| Moldova | TVM | Marcel Spătari | all shows | Tanya Cerga |
| Netherlands | Nederland 1, Nederland 1 HD, BVN | Cornald Maas, Daniël Dekker | all shows | Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen |
| Norway | NRK1, NRK HD | Olav Viksmo-Slettan | all shows | Anne Rimmen |
| Poland | TVP1, TVP HD, TVP Polonia | Artur Orzech | all shows | Aleksandra Rosiak |
| Portugal | RTP1, RTP HD, RTP Internacional | Sérgio Mateus | all shows | Ana Galvão |
| Romania | TVR1, TVR HD | Leonard Miron, Gianina Corondan | all shows | Malvina Cservenschi |
| Russia | Russia-1 | Olga Shelest, Dmitry Guberniev | all shows | Oxana Fedorova |
| Serbia | RTS1, RTS HD, RTS SAT | Dragan Ilić | second semi-finals | Maja Nikolić |
| Duška Vučinić-Lučić | first semi-finals & finals | |||
| Slovakia | Dvojka | Roman Bomboš | all shows | Ľubomír Bajaník |
| Slovenia | RTVSLO | Andrej Hofer | all shows | Andrea F |
| Spain | La 1, La 2, TVE Internacional, TVE HD | José Luis Uribarri | first semi-finals & finals | Ainhoa Arbizu |
| Sweden | SVT1, SVT HD, SVT World | Christine Meltzer, Edward af Sillén | all shows | Eric Saade |
| Sveriges Radio P4 | Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman | |||
| Switzerland (German) | SF zwei | Sven Epiney | all shows | Christa Rigozzi |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR 2 | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | RSI La 1 | Sandy Altermatt | ||
| Turkey | TRT 1, TRT HD, TRT Avaz | Bülend Özveren | all shows | Meltem Ersan Yazgan |
| Ukraine | Pershyi Natsionalnyi | Timur Miroshnychenko | all shows | Iryna Zhuravska |
| United Kingdom | BBC Three, BBC HD | Paddy O'Connell, Sarah Cawood | semi-finals | Scott Mills |
| BBC One, BBC HD | Graham Norton | finals | ||
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | SBS One, SBS HD | Julia Zemiro, Sam Pang | all shows |
| Hungary | Duna TV, Duna TV HD | Zsolt Jeszenszky | all shows |
| Montenegro | TVCG2 | Dražen Bauković, Tamara Ivanković | all shows |
| New Zealand | Triangle Stratos | No commentator | all shows |
Broadcast notes[]
- Australia - SBS broadcast the first semi-final on 28 May 2010, the second semi-final on 29 May 2010, and the final on 30 May 2010, with all shows broadcast at 19:30 AEST (09:30 UTC). The final was also simulcast on SBS Eurovision, a special digital radio station set-up by the network which ran from 1 May to 11 June 2010 and aired classic Eurovision songs in the lead-up to the event.
- New Zealand - Triangle Stratos broadcast all shows as a delayed broadcast.
- Spain - The first semi-finals and finals were broadcast on La 1, La 2 and TVE International live, while it was broadcast on TVE HD deferred.