The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the 2011 contest with the song "Running Scared" by Ell and Nikki. It was the first time Azerbaijan had hosted the contest - only four years after the country made its debut. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster İctimai Television (İTV), the contest was held at the Baku Crystal Hall, and consisted of two semi-finals on 22 and 24 May, and the grand final on 26 May 2012. The three live shows were presented by Leyla Aliyeva, Eldar Gasimov and Nargiz Birk-Petersen.
Forty-two countries participated in the contest – one less than the record number of 43 set at the previous contest. Montenegro returned to the contest, for the first time since 2009. Meanwhile, Armenia withdrew due to security concerns in relation to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Poland did not participate due to financial concerns regarding the UEFA Euro 2012 (hosted by Poland and Ukraine) and the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The winner was Sweden with the song "Euphoria", performed by Loreen and written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. Russia, Serbia, host country Azerbaijan and Albania rounded out the top five, with Albania achieving their best result to date. Out of the "Big Five" countries, Germany, Italy and Spain all managed to rank within the top 10, finishing eighth, ninth and tenth, respectively.
The lead-up to the contest was met with political concerns and protests surrounding the host country, including its human rights record and allegations by advocacy groups that Baku was carrying out forced evictions in the construction of the contest's venue, along with objections to the contest's presence by Iranian officials – who felt that the event was anti-Islamic because it was, according to them, a "gay parade".
Results[]
First semi-final[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | VGTRK | Buranovskiye Babushki | "Party for Everybody" | 152 |
| 2 | Albania | RTSH | Rona Nishliu | "Suus" | 146 |
| 3 | Romania | TVR | Mandiga | "Zaleilah" | 120 |
| 4 | Greece | ERT | Eleftheria Eleftheriou | "Aphrodisiac" | 116 |
| 5 | Moldova | TRM | Pasha Parfeny | "Lăutar" | 100 |
| 6 | Ireland | RTÉ | Jedward | "Waterline" | 92 |
| 7 | Cyprus | CyBC | Ivi Adamou | "La La Love" | 91 |
| 8 | Iceland | RÚV | Greta Salóme and Jónsi | "Never Forget" | 75 |
| 9 | Denmark | DR | Soluna Samay | "Should've Known Better" | 63 |
| 10 | Hungary | MTVA | Compact Disco | "Sound of Our Hearts" | 52 |
| 11 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Sinplus | "Unbreakable" | 45 |
| 12 | Finland | Yle | Pernilla Karlsson | "När jag blundar" | 41 |
| 13 | Israel | IBA | Izabo | "Time" | 33 |
| 14 | San Marino | SMRTV | Valentina Monetta | "The Social Network Song (Oh Oh – Uh - Oh Oh)" | 31 |
| 15 | Montenegro | RTCG | Rambo Amadeus | "Euro Neuro" | 20 |
| 16 | Latvia | LTV | Anmary | "Beautiful Song" | 17 |
| 17 | Belgium | VRT | Iris | "Would You?" | 16 |
| 18 | Austria | ORF | Trackshittaz | "Woki mit deim Popo" | 8 |
Second semi-final[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | SVT | Loreen | "Euphoria" | 181 |
| 2 | Serbia | RTS | Željko Joksimović | "Nije ljubav stvar" (Није љубав ствар) | 159 |
| 3 | Lithuania | LRT | Donny Montell | "Love Is Blind" | 104 |
| 4 | Estonia | ERR | Ott Lepland | "Kuula" | 100 |
| 5 | Turkey | TRT | Can Bonomo | "Love Me Back" | 80 |
| 6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Maya Sar | "Korake ti znam" | 77 |
| 7 | Malta | PBS | Kurt Calleja | "This Is the Night" | 70 |
| 8 | Ukraine | NTU | Gaitana | "Be My Guest" | 64 |
| 9 | Macedonia | MRT | Kaliopi | "Crno i belo" (Црно и бело) | 53 |
| 10 | Norway | NRK | Tooji | "Stay" | 45 |
| 11 | Bulgaria | BNT | Sofi Marinova | "Love Unlimited" | 45 |
| 12 | Croatia | HRT | Nina Badrić | "Nebo" | 42 |
| 13 | Portugal | RTP | Filipa Sousa | "Vida minha" | 39 |
| 14 | Georgia | GPB | Anri Jokhadze | "I'm a Joker" | 36 |
| 15 | Netherlands | TROS | Joan Franka | "You and Me" | 35 |
| 16 | Belarus | BTRC | Litesound | "We Are the Heroes" | 35 |
| 17 | Slovenia | RTVSLO | Eva Boto | "Verjamem" | 31 |
| 18 | Slovakia | RTVS | Max Jason Mai | "Don't Close Your Eyes" | 22 |
Finals[]
Country in gold is the winning entry, the country in silver is the host country, and the countries in lime are the "Big 5" countries which are rewarded with automatic spots in the finals.
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Sweden | SVT | Loreen | "Euphoria" | 372 |
| 02 | Russia | VGTRK | Buranovskiye Babushki | "Party for Everybody" | 259 |
| 03 | Serbia | RTS | Željko Joksimović | "Nije ljubav stvar" (Није љубав ствар) | 214 |
| 04 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Sabina Babayeva | "When the Music Dies" | 150 |
| 05 | Albania | RTSH | Rona Nishliu | "Suus" | 146 |
| 06 | Estonia | ERR | Ott Lepland | "Kuula" | 120 |
| 07 | Turkey | TRT | Can Bonomo | "Love Me Back" | 112 |
| 08 | Germany | ARD/NDR | Roman Lob | "Standing Still" | 110 |
| 09 | Italy | RAI | Nina Zilli | "L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)" | 101 |
| 10 | Spain | RTVE | Pastora Soler | "Quédate conmigo" | 97 |
| 11 | Moldova | TRM | Pasha Parfeny | "Lăutar" | 81 |
| 12 | Romania | TVR | Mandinga | "Zaleilah" | 71 |
| 13 | Macedonia | MRT | Kaliopi | "Crno i belo" (Црно и бело) | 71 |
| 14 | Lithuania | LRT | Donny Montell | "Love Is Blind" | 70 |
| 15 | Ukraine | NTU | Gaitana | "Be My Guest" | 65 |
| 16 | Cyprus | CyBC | Ivi Adamou | "La La Love" | 65 |
| 17 | Greece | ERT | Eleftheria Eleftheriou | "Aphrodisiac" | 64 |
| 18 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | Maya Sar | "Korake ti znam" | 55 |
| 19 | Ireland | RTÉ | Jedward | "Waterline" | 46 |
| 20 | Iceland | RÚV | Gréta Salóme and Jónsi | "Never Forget" | 46 |
| 21 | Malta | PBS | Kurt Calleja | "This Is the Night" | 41 |
| 22 | France | France Télévisions | Anggun | "Echo (You and I)" | 21 |
| 23 | Denmark | DR | Soluna Samay | "Should've Known Better" | 21 |
| 24 | Hungary | MTVA | Compact Disco | "Sound of Our Hearts" | 19 |
| 25 | United Kingdom | BBC | Engelbert Humperdinck | "Love Will Set You Free" | 12 |
| 26 | Norway | NRK | Tooji | "Stay" | 7 |
Awards[]
Marcel Bezençon Awards[]
- Artistic Award and Composers Award - "Euphoria" by Loreen (Sweden)
- Press Award - "When the Music Dies" by Sabina Babayeva (Azerbaijan)
OGAE Poll[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | Loreen | "Euphoria" | 375 |
| 2 | Italy | Nina Zilli | "L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)" | 212 |
| 3 | Iceland | Greta Salóme and Jónsi | "Never Forget" | 211 |
| 4 | Serbia | Željko Joksimović | "Nije ljubav stvar" | 199 |
| 5 | Norway | Tooji | "Stay" | 164 |
Barbara Dex Award[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albania | Rona Nishliu | "Suus" |
| 2 | Ireland | Jedward | "Waterline" |
| 3 | Bulgaria | Sofi Marinova | "Love Unlimited" |
| 4 | Netherlands | Joan Franka | "You and Me" |
| 5 | Ukraine | Gaitana | "Be My Guest" |
Broadcast[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows | Spokesperson |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | TVSH | Andri Xhahu | all shows | Andri Xhahu |
| Austria | ORF eins | Andi Knoll | all shows | Kati Bellowitsch |
| Stermann & Grissemann, Lukas Plöchl | finals | |||
| Azerbaijan | İctimai Television | Konul Arifgiz, Saleh Baghirov | all shows | Safura Alizadeh |
| Belarus | Belarus-1 | Denis Kurian | all shows | Dmitry Koldun |
| Belgium (French) | La Une | Jean-Pierre Hautier, Jean-Louis Lahaye | all shows | Peter Van de Veire |
| Belgium (Dutch) | één, Radio 2 | André Vermeulen, Peter Van de Veire | ||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHT 1 | Dejan Kukrić | all shows | Elvir Laković Laka |
| Bulgaria | BNT | Georgi Kushvaliev, Elena Rosberg | all shows | Anna Angelova |
| Croatia | HRT 1 | Duško Čurlić | all shows | Nevena Rendeli |
| Cyprus | RIK 1 | Melina Karageorgiou | all shows | Loucas Hamatsos |
| Denmark | DR1, DR HD | Ole Tøpholm | all shows | Louise Wolff |
| Estonia | ETV | Marko Reikop | all shows | Getter Jaani |
| Finland (Finnish) | Yle TV2, Yle HD | Tarja Närhi, Tobias Larsson | all shows | Mr Lordi |
| Yle Radio Suomi | Sanna Kojo, Jorma Hietamäki | |||
| Finland (Swedish) | Yle TV2, Yle HD, Yle Radio Vega | Eva Frantz, Johan Lindroos | ||
| France | France Ô | Audrey Chauveau, Bruno Berberes | all shows | Amaury Vassili |
| France 3 | Cyril Féraud, Mireille Dumas | finals | ||
| France Bleu | Fabien Lecœuvre, Serge Poezevara | finals | ||
| Georgia | 1TV | Temo Kvirkvelia | all shows | Sopho Toroshelidze |
| Germany | Das Erste | Peter Urban | all shows | Anke Engelke |
| hr3 | Tim Frühling | |||
| NDR 2 | Thomas Mohr | |||
| Greece | NET | Maria Kozakou | all shows | Adriana Magania |
| Hungary | m1 | Gábor Gundel Takács | all shows | Éva Novodomszky |
| Iceland | RÚV | Hrafnhildur Halldorsdóttir | all shows | Matthías Matthíasson |
| Ireland | RTÉ Two | Marty Whelan | semi-finals | Gráinne Seoige |
| RTÉ One | finals | |||
| RTÉ Radio 1 | Shay Byrne, Zbyszek Zalinski | |||
| Israel | IBA | No commentator | all shows | Ofer Nachshon |
| Italy | Rai 5 | Federica Gentile | first semi-finals | Ivan Bacchi |
| Rai 2 | Filippo Solibello, Marco Ardemagni | finals | ||
| Latvia | LTV1 | Valters Frīdenbergs | all shows | Valters Frīdenbergs |
| Kārlis Būmeistars | finals | |||
| Lithuania | LRT | Darius Užkuraitis | all shows | Ignas Krupavičius |
| Macedonia | MRT 1 | Karolina Petkovska | all shows | Kristina Talevska |
| Malta | TVM | Elaine Saliba, Ronald Briffa | all shows | Keith Demicoli |
| Moldova | Moldova 1 | Marcel Spătari | all shows | Olivia Fortuna |
| Montenegro | TVCG 1 | Dražen Bauković, Tamara Ivanković | first semi-finals and finals | Marija Marković |
| TVCG 2 | second semi-finals | |||
| TVCG MNE | all shows | |||
| Netherlands | Nederland 1 | Jan Smit, Daniël Dekker | all shows | Viviënne van den Assem |
| Norway | NRK1 | Olav Viksmo-Slettan | all shows | Nadia Hasnaoui |
| Portugal | RTP1 | Pedro Granger | all shows | Joana Teles |
| Romania | TVR1 | Leonard Miron, Gianina Corondan | all shows | Paula Seling |
| Russia | Russia-1 | Olga Shelest, Dmitry Guberniev | all shows | Oxana Fedorova |
| San Marino | SMtv San Marino | Lia Fiorio, Gigi Restivo | all shows | Monica Fabbri |
| Serbia | RTS1, RTS Sat | Dragan Ilić | first semi-finals | Maja Nikolić |
| Duška Vučinić-Lučić | second semi-finals & finals | |||
| Slovakia | Jednotka, Rádio Slovensko | Roman Bomboš | all shows | Mária Pietrová |
| Radio FM | Daniel Baláž, Pavol Hubinák | finals | ||
| Slovenia | TV SLO 2 | Andrej Hofer | semi-finals | Lorella Flego |
| TV SLO 1 | finals | |||
| Spain | La 2 | José María Íñigo | first semi-finals | Elena S. Sánchez |
| La 1 | finals | |||
| Sweden | SVT1 | Gina Dirawi, Edward af Sillén | all shows | Sarah Dawn Finer |
| SR P3 | Björn Kjellman, Carolina Norén | |||
| Switzerland (German) | SF zwei | Sven Epiney | first semi-finals and finals | Sara Hildebrand |
| Switzerland (French) | TSR 2 | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | RSI La 2 | Clarissa Tami, Paolo Meneguzzi | first semi-finals | |
| RSI La 1 | finals | |||
| Turkey | TRT 1, TRT HD, TRT Türk, TRT Müzik, TRT Avaz | Bülend Özveren, Erhan Konuk | all shows | Ömer Önder |
| Ukraine | Pershyi Natsionalnyi | Tymur Miroshnychenko, Tetiana Terekhova | all shows | Oleksiy Matias |
| United Kingdom | BBC Three | Scott Mills, Sara Cox | semi-finals | Scott Mills |
| BBC One | Graham Norton | finals | ||
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenia | Armenia 1 | Gohar Gasparyan, Artur Grigoryan | all shows |
| Australia | SBS One | Julia Zemiro, Sam Pang | all shows |
| China | CCTV-15 | no commentators | finals |
Broadcast notes[]
- Australia - All shows were broadcast on SBS One on 26 and 27 May 2012.
- China - The final was broadcast on CCTV-15 on 1 December 2013, which was shortened into two hours.