The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The contest was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following the country's victory at the 2019 contest with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was due to host the 2020 contest, before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the fifth time that the Netherlands had hosted the contest, having previously done so in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcasters Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO), Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and AVROTROS, the contest was held at Rotterdam Ahoy, and consisted of two semi-finals on 18 and 20 May, and the final on 22 May 2021. The three live shows were presented by Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley, Jan Smit and Nikkie de Jager.
Thirty-nine countries participated in the contest, of which twenty-six re-entered the artists chosen for 2020 (albeit with different songs, as per the contest's rules). Bulgaria and Ukraine returned after their absences from the 2019 contest, while Hungary and Montenegro did not return after their 2019 participation. Armenia and Belarus had originally planned to participate, but Armenia later withdrew due to social and political crises following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war and Belarus was disqualified after submitting entries in violation of the rules twice, and not providing an eligible entry before the deadline.
The winner was Italy with the song “Zitti e buoni”, performed by Måneskin and written by the band's members Damiano David, Ethan Torchio, Thomas Raggi and Victoria De Angelis. This was Italy’s third victory in the contest, following their wins in 1964 and 1990, and making them only the second member of the so-called “Big 5” to win the contest since Germany in 2010. Måneskin's victory also makes them the first band to win the contest since Lordi for Finland in 2006. France, Switzerland, Iceland and Ukraine rounded out the top five, with France and Switzerland achieving their best results since 1991 and 1993 respectively. This was the fifth time since the juries were reintroduced alongside the televoting in 2009 that the winner did not place first in the jury voting; Switzerland was the jury winner, while Italy was the televote winner. For the first time since 1995, none of the top three entries were performed in English, with France and Switzerland performing in French, and Italy in Italian.
Also, for the first time since the current voting system was implemented in 2016, more than one countries received nul points from the televote in the final; these were Germany, Spain, the host country the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, the last of those becoming the first country to receive nul points from both the jury and televote. This was the fifth time that the host country ranked in the bottom five since 2015, with the Netherlands finishing 23rd in the final, as well as the second time that the United Kingdom had received nul points in the contest, the last time having been in 2003. For the first time since its debut in 2015, Australia failed to qualify for the final, making Ukraine the only country to have never failed to qualify from the semi-finals since their introduction in 2004.
The EBU reported that the contest had an audience of 183 million viewers in 36 European markets, an increase of a million viewers from the previous edition, with an increase of seven percent in the 15–24 year old age range.
Results[]
First semi-final[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malta | PBS | Destiny | "Je me casse" | 325 |
| 2 | Ukraine | UA:PBC | Go_A | "Shum" (Шум) | 267 |
| 3 | Russia | Channel One | Manizha | "Russian Woman" | 225 |
| 4 | Lithuania | LRT | The Roop | "Discoteque" | 203 |
| 5 | Israel | IPBC (Kan) | Eden Alene | "Set Me Free" | 192 |
| 6 | Cyprus | CyBC | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | 170 |
| 7 | Sweden | SVT | Tusse | "Voices" | 142 |
| 8 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Efendi | "Mata Hari" | 138 |
| 9 | Belgium | VRT | Hooverphonic | "The Wrong Place" | 117 |
| 10 | Norway | NRK | Tix | "Fallen Angel" | 115 |
| 11 | Croatia | HRT | Albina | "Tick-Tock" | 110 |
| 12 | Romania | TVR | Roxen | "Amnesia" | 85 |
| 13 | Slovenia | RTVSLO | Ana Soklič | "Amen" | 44 |
| 14 | Australia | SBS | Montaigne | "Technicolour" | 28 |
| 15 | North Macedonia | MRT | Vasil | "Here I Stand" | 23 |
| 16 | Ireland | RTÉ | Lesley Roy | "Maps" | 20 |
Second semi-final[]
| Rank | Country | EBU member station | Artist(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Gjon's Tears | "Tout l'univers" | 291 |
| 2 | Iceland | RÚV | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "10 Years" | 288 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | BNT | Victoria | "Growing Up Is Getting Old" | 250 |
| 4 | Portugal | RTP | The Black Mamba | "Love Is on My Side" | 239 |
| 5 | Finland | Yle | Blind Channel | "Dark Side" | 234 |
| 6 | Greece | ERT | Stefania | "Last Dance" | 184 |
| 7 | Moldova | TRM | Natalia Gordienko | "Sugar" | 179 |
| 8 | Serbia | RTS | Hurricane | "Loco Loco" | 124 |
| 9 | San Marino | SMRTV | Senhit (with uncredited live vocals by Flo Rida) |
"Adrenalina" | 118 |
| 10 | Albania | RTSH | Anxhela Peristeri | "Karma" | 112 |
| 11 | Denmark | DR | Fyr & Flamme | "Øve os på hinanden" | 89 |
| 12 | Austria | ORF | Vincent Bueno | "Amen" | 66 |
| 13 | Estonia | ERR | Uku Suviste | "The Lucky One" | 58 |
| 14 | Poland | TVP | Rafał | "The Ride" | 35 |
| 15 | Czech Republic | ČT | Benny Cristo | "Omaga" | 23 |
| 16 | Georgia | GPB | Tornike Kipiani | "You" | 16 |
| 17 | Latvia | LTV | Samanta Tīna | "The Moon Is Rising" | 14 |
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(s) | Song | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | RAI | Måneskin | "Zitti e buoni" | 524 |
| 2 | France | France Télévisions | Barbara Pravi | "Voilà" | 499 |
| 3 | Switzerland | SRG SSR | Gjon's Tears | "Tout l'Univers" | 432 |
| 4 | Iceland | RÚV | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "10 Years" | 378 |
| 5 | Ukraine | UA:PBC | Go_A | "Shum" (Шум) | 364 |
| 6 | Finland | Yle | Blind Channel | "Dark Side" | 301 |
| 7 | Malta | PBS | Destiny | "Je me casse" | 255 |
| 8 | Lithuania | LRT | The Roop | "Discoteque" | 220 |
| 9 | Russia | Channel One | Manizha | "Russian Woman" | 204 |
| 10 | Greece | ERT | Stefania | "Last Dance" | 170 |
| 11 | Bulgaria | BNT | Victoria | "Growing Up Is Getting Old" | 170 |
| 12 | Portugal | RTP | The Black Mamba | "Love Is on My Side" | 153 |
| 13 | Moldova | TRM | Natalia Gordienko | "Sugar" | 115 |
| 14 | Sweden | SVT | Tusse | "Voices" | 109 |
| 15 | Serbia | RTS | Hurricane | "Loco Loco" | 102 |
| 16 | Cyprus | CyBC | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | 94 |
| 17 | Israel | IPBC (Kan) | Eden Alene | "Set Me Free" | 93 |
| 18 | Norway | NRK | Tix | "Fallen Angel" | 75 |
| 19 | Belgium | VRT | Hooverphonic | "The Wrong Place" | 74 |
| 20 | Azerbaijan | İTV | Efendi | "Mata Hari" | 65 |
| 21 | Albania | RTSH | Anxhela Peristeri | "Karma" | 57 |
| 22 | San Marino | SMRTV | Senhit (with uncredited live vocals by Flo Rida) |
"Adrenalina" | 50 |
| 23 | Netherlands | AVROTROS | Jeangu Macrooy | "Birth of a New Age" | 11 |
| 24 | Spain | RTVE | Blas Cantó | "Voy a quedarme" | 6 |
| 25 | Germany | ARD/NDR | Jendrik | "I Don't Feel Hate" | 3 |
| 26 | United Kingdom | BBC | James Newman | "Embers" | 0 |
Awards[]
Marcel Bezençon Awards[]
- Artistic Award and Press Award - "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi (France)
- Composers Award - "Tout l'univers" by Gjon's Tears (Switzerland)
OGAE Poll[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malta | Destiny | "Je me casse" | 363 |
| 2 | Switzerland | Gjon's Tears | "Tout l'univers" | 358 |
| 3 | France | Barbara Pravi | "Voilà" | 318 |
| 4 | Lithuania | The Roop | "Discoteque" | 301 |
| 5 | Cyprus | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | 238 |
Barbara Dex Award[]
| Rank | Country | Artist(s) | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norway | Tix | "Fallen Angel" |
| 2 | Romania | Roxen | "Amnesia" |
| 3 | Croatia | Albina | "Tick-Tock" |
| 4 | United Kingdom | James Newman | "Embers" |
| 5 | Israel | Eden Alene | "Set Me Free" |
Eurovision Awards[]
Country in gold is the category winner and country in silver is the category runner-up.
| Category | Country | Artist(s) | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Innovative Staging | Ukraine | Go_A | "Shum" |
| France | Barbara Pravi | "Voilà" | |
| Cyprus | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | |
| Greece | Stefania | "Last Dance" | |
| Switzerland | Gjon's Tears | "Tout l'univers" | |
| Best Vocals | Switzerland | Gjon's Tears | "Tout l'univers" |
| Israel | Eden Alene | "Set Me Free" | |
| Albania | Anxhela Peristeri | "Karma" | |
| Malta | Destiny | "Je me casse" | |
| Portugal | The Black Mamba | "Love Is on My Side" | |
| Most Iconic Prop | Russia | Manizha (Dress) | "Russian Woman" |
| Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið (Circular piano) | "10 Years" | |
| San Marino | Senhit (Head dress) | "Adrenalina" | |
| Spain | Blas Cantó (Moon) | "Voy a quedarme" | |
| United Kingdom | James Newman (Trumpets) | "Embers" | |
| Best Non-Qualifier | Croatia | Albina | "Tick-Tock" |
| Denmark | Fyr og Flamme | "Øve os på hinanden" | |
| Australia | Montaigne | "Technicolour" | |
| Czech Republic | Benny Cristo | "Omaga" | |
| Poland | Rafał | "The Ride" | |
| Best Spokesperson | Iceland | Hannes Óli Ágústsson (as Olaf Yohansson from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) | |
| Moldova | Sergey Stepanov (Epic Sax Guy) | ||
| Australia | Joel Creasey | ||
| Germany | Barbara Schöneberger | ||
| Sweden | Carola | ||
| Best Dressed | Italy | Måneskin | "Zitti e buoni" |
| Norway | Tix | "Fallen Angel" | |
| Iceland | Daði Freyr | "10 Years" | |
| Sweden | Tusse | "Voices" | |
| Ukraine | Go_A | "Shum" | |
| The MorrocanOil Award for Best Hairstyle | Serbia | Hurricane | "Loco loco" |
| Israel | Eden Alene | "Set Me Free" | |
| Cyprus | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | |
| Netherlands | Jeangu Macrooy | "Birth of a New Age" | |
| Spain | Blas Cantó | "Voy a quedarme" | |
| Best Choreography | Lithuania | The Roop | "Discoteque" |
| Serbia | Hurricane | "Loco loco" | |
| Cyprus | Elena Tsagrinou | "El Diablo" | |
| Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "10 Years" | |
| Malta | Destiny | "Je me casse" | |
| Best Official Video | Italy | Måneskin | "Zitti e buoni" |
| Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "10 Years" | |
| Germany | Jendrik | "I Don't Feel Hate" | |
| Moldova | Natalia Gordienko | "Sugar" | |
| Ukraine | Go_A | "Shum" | |
| Moment of the Year | United Kingdom | Four 0 points in a row | |
| Germany | |||
| Spain | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| Italy | Damiano David: "Rock 'n' roll never dies!" | ||
| Iceland | Daði og Gagnamagnið still participate | ||
| San Marino | Flo Rida makes an appearance | ||
| United Kingdom | James Newman's champagne celebration | ||
Broadcast[]
Participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows | Spokesperson(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | RTSH 1, RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana 1 | Andri Xhahu | all shows | Andri Xhahu |
| Australia | SBS | Myf Warhurst, Joel Creasey | all shows | Joel Creasey |
| Austria | ORF 1 | Andi Knoll | all shows | Philipp Hansa |
| Azerbaijan | İTV | Murad Arif, Hüsniyyə Məhərrəmova | all shows | Ell & Nikki |
| Belgium (Dutch) | Eén | Peter Van de Veire | all shows | Danira Boukhriss |
| Ketnet | Dutch audio description | |||
| Radio 2 | Anja Daems, Showbizz Bart | finals | ||
| Belgium (French) | La Une, RTBF Auvio | Fanny Jandrain, Jean-Louis Lahaye | all shows | |
| VivaCité | first semi-finals and finals | |||
| Bulgaria | BNT 1, BNT 4 | Elena Rosberg, Petko Kralev | all shows | Joanna Dragneva |
| Croatia | HRT 1 | Duško Ćurlić | all shows | Ivan Dorian Molnar |
| HR 2 | Unknown | finals | ||
| Cyprus | RIK 1, RIK HD, RIK Sat | Louis Patsalides | all shows | Loukas Hamatsos |
| Czech Republic | ČT2 | Jan Maxián, Albert Černý | semi-finals | Taťána Kuchařová |
| ČT1 | finals | |||
| Denmark | DR1 | Henrik Milling, Nicolai Molbech | all shows | Tina Müller |
| Estonia (Estonian) | ETV | Marko Reikop | all shows | Sissi |
| ERR Jupiter | Sign language interpreters | |||
| Estonia (Russian) | ETV+ | Aleksandr Hobotov, Julia Kalenda | ||
| Finland (Finnish) | Yle TV1 | Mikko Silvennoinen | all shows | Katri Norrlin |
| Yle Radio Suomi | Sanna Pirkkalainen, Toni Laaksonen | |||
| Finland (Swedish) | Yle TV1, Yle X3M | Eva Frantz, Johan Lindroos | ||
| Finland (Russian) | Yle TV1 | Levan Tvaltvadze | ||
| France | Culturebox | Laurence Boccolini | semi-finals | Carla |
| France 2 | Stéphane Bern, Laurence Boccolini | finals | ||
| Georgia | First Channel | Nika Lobiladze | all shows | Oto Nemsadze |
| Germany | One | Peter Urban | all shows | Barbara Schöneberger |
| Das Erste, Deutsche Welle | finals | |||
| Greece | ERT1 | Maria Kozakou, Giorgos Kapoutzidis | all shows | Manolis Gkinis |
| ERT Second Programme, Voice of Greece | Dimitris Meidanis | |||
| Giorgos Katsaros | finals | |||
| Iceland (Icelandic) | RÚV | Gísli Marteinn Baldursson | all shows | Hannes Óli Ágústsson (as Olaf Yohansson from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) |
| Rás 2 | Unknown | second semi-finals and finals | ||
| Iceland (English) | RÚV.is | Alex Elliott | all shows | |
| Iceland (Sign Language) | RÚV 2 | Elsa G. Björnsdóttir | ||
| Ireland | RTÉ2 | Marty Whelan | semi-finals | Ryan O'Shaughnessy |
| RTÉ One | finals | |||
| RTÉ 2fm | Neil Doherty, Zbyszek Zalinski | |||
| RTÉ Radio 1 | first semi-finals | |||
| Israel | Kan 11, Kan Educational, Kan Tarbut | Asaf Liberman, Akiva Novik | all shows | Lucy Ayoub |
| Italy | Rai 4 | Ema Stokholma, Saverio Raimondo | semi-finals | Carolina Di Domenico |
| Rai Radio 2 | ||||
| Ema Stokholma, Gino Castaldo | finals | |||
| Rai 1 | Gabriele Corsi, Cristiano Malgioglio | |||
| Latvia | LTV1 | Toms Grēviņš | semi-finals | Aminata Savadogo |
| Toms Grēviņš, Marie N | finals | |||
| Lithuania | LRT televizija, LRT Radijas | Ramūnas Zilnys | all shows | Andrius Mamontovas |
| Malta | TVM | No commentary | all shows | Stephanie Spiteri |
| Moldova | Moldova 1, Radio Moldova | Doina Stimpovschi | all shows | Sergey Stepanov (Epic Sax Guy) |
| Netherlands | NPO 1, BVN | Cornald Maas, Sander Lantinga | all shows | Romy Monteiro |
| NPO 1 Extra | Sign language interpreters | |||
| NPO Zappelin Extra | Dutch audio description | |||
| NPO Radio 2 | Wouter van der Goes, Frank van ’t Hof | finals | ||
| North Macedonia | MRT 1, MRT 2 | Eli Tanaskovska | all shows | Vane Markoski |
| Norway | NRK1 | Marte Stokstad | all shows | Silje Skjemstad Cruz |
| NRK3 | Martin Lepperød, Adelina Ibishi | finals | ||
| NRK P1 | Ole-Christian Øen | |||
| Poland | TVP1, TVP Polonia | Marek Sierocki, Aleksander Sikora | all shows | Ida Nowakowska |
| Portugal | RTP1, RTP Internacional, RTP África | José Carlos Malato, Nuno Galopim | all shows | Elisa |
| Romania | TVR1, TVRi | Bogdan Stănescu | all shows | Cătălina Ponor |
| Russia | Channel One | Yuri Aksyuta, Yana Churikova | all shows | Polina Gagarina |
| San Marino | San Marino RTV, Radio San Marino | Lia Fiorio, Gigi Restivo | all shows | Monica Fabbri |
| Serbia | RTS 1, RTS Planeta, RTS Svet | Duška Vučinić | all shows | Dragana Kosjerina |
| Radio Belgrade 1 | Katarina Epštajn, Nikoleta Dojčinović | finals | ||
| Slovenia | TV Slovenija 2 | Mojca Mavec | semi-finals | Lorella Flego |
| TV Slovenija 1 | finals | |||
| RTV 4D, Radio Val 202 | all shows | |||
| Spain | La 2 | Tony Aguilar, Julia Varela, Víctor Escudero | semi-finals | Nieves Álvarez |
| La 1, TVE Internacional | finals | |||
| Radio Nacional, Radio Exterior, Radio 5 | Imanol Durán | |||
| Sweden | SVT1 | Edward af Sillén, Christer Björkman | all shows | Carola |
| Sveriges Radio P4 | Carolina Norén | |||
| Switzerland (German) | SRF zwei | Sven Epiney | semi-finals | Angélique Beldner |
| SRF 1 | finals | |||
| Switzerland (French) | RTS 2 | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner | semi-finals | |
| RTS 1 | Jean-Marc Richard, Nicolas Tanner, Joseph Gorgoni | finals | ||
| Switzerland (Italian) | RSI La 2 | Clarissa Tami | second semi-finals | |
| RSI La 1 | Clarissa Tami, Sebalter | finals | ||
| Ukraine | UA:First | Timur Miroshnychenko | all shows | Tayanna |
| STB | Serhiy Prytula | |||
| UA:Ukrainian Radio | Olena Zelinchenko | finals | ||
| UA:Radio Promin | Anna Zakletska, Dmytro Zakharchenko | |||
| United Kingdom | BBC Four | Scott Mills, Sara Cox, Chelcee Grimes | semi-finals | Amanda Holden |
| BBC One | Graham Norton | finals | ||
| BBC Radio 2 | Ken Bruce |
Non-participating countries[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Commentator(s) | Shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Omni Television | No commentary | all shows |
| Kazakhstan | Khabar TV | Kaldybek Zhajsanbaj, Mahabbat Esen | all shows |
| Kosovo | RTK | Unknown | all shows |
| Slovakia | Rádio FM | Daniel Baláž, Lucia Haverlík, Pavol Hubinák, Juraj Malíček | finals |
| Suriname | ATV | Unknown | finals |
| United States | Peacock | No commentary | all shows |
| WJFD-FM | Ewan Spence, Ross Middleton | finals |
Broadcast notes[]
- Australia - All shows were broadcast live, with a primetime rebroadcast in the evening between 21 and 23 May.
- Belgium - The second semi-final was broadcast on La Une on a 90-minute delay, while VivaCité broadcast the final on a 60-minute delay. Jandrain replaced Maureen Louys to be the French commentator due to the latter being absent after testing positive for COVID-19.
- Israel - The shows would be deferred to Kan Educational in the event that the main broadcast on Kan 11 is interrupted due to the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.
- Netherlands - Monteiro replaced Duncan Laurence to be the spokesperson for the country due to the latter being absent after testing positive for COVID-19.
- Portugal - The first semi-final was broadcast on a two-hour delay, starting at 22:15 WEST.
- United Kingdom - Cox replaced Rylan Clark-Neal to be the commentator for the semi-finals after the latter became absent due to illness but still appeared in pre-recorded segments.