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Russia wins Eurovision Song Contest |
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Written by Telly Addict
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Saturday, 24 May 2008 |
Russian singer Dima Bilan has won the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest
Dima Bilan is one of Russia's biggest pop stars and his heartfelt ballad Believe, gave Russia its first ever Eurovision win.
Ukraine's Ani Lorak came second, followed by Kalomira for Greece.
The United Kingdom had a very poor results, with Andy Abraham coming joint last with his song Even If, gaining just 14 points, the same as Germany and Poland.
The only countries to give the UK any points were San Marino, who were taking part in Eurovision for the first time, and Ireland.
Russian Dima Bilan won with a stage show that included Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko performing on a small ice circle. Dima Bilan is a well-known performer throughout Russia and beyond, having been named best artist at Russia's MTV Awards for the past three years in a row.
Bilan took part in Eurovision in 2006, finishing second behind Finnish rock monsters Lordi.
Dima Bilan has recorded an album in English, including a duet with Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, and hopes to use the album to break into the international market later this year.
This year's other Eurovision Song Contest entrants included Latvian pirates, a Finnish heavy rock group, a 75-year-old Croatian rapper and French dance musician Sebastian Tellier, who has worked with Daft Punk and Air. Swedish singer Charlotte Perrelli, who won the event in 1999, was another hot tip. Ireland's entry Dustin The Turkey was eliminated in the semi-finals.
The Eurovision Song Contest final was opened in front of 20,000 fans at the Belgrade Arena by last year's winner Marija Serifovic.
The 20 countries that came through the semi-finals joined hosts Serbia plus the UK, France, Germany and Spain - the contest's four biggest financial backers.
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