Chortle - 12 points to Norway
Looks like Greece is it.
Sweden handing out points to Norway and Denmark, how nice
The chick calling in from Macedonia has gone with a Star-Wars-inspired hairstyle, I see…
Danes are nice folks.
Blonde is definately favourite for female presenters, Ukraine and another blondie.
Looks like they are trying to build up the tension artificially by making her repeat it all
That German presenters smile looked a bit forced to me, mind you, being bottom of the pile I’m not surprised
And as Greece finishes reporting its votes, all of Europe says with one voice:
"Twelve points goes to… CYPRUS!"
Greece dontes the maximum 12 to Cyprus - smirk
How many Mediterranean countries have not given twelve points to Greece? And what did Greece promise them in return for this?
Well Greece wins,
May they fade into obscurity like so many winners before them
Aaaand it’s all over but the shouting. Good night!
So Greece it is then, and its goodbye to her career, the Eurovision curse will surely make itself felt.
He always looks like that 
I don’t think the result bothers people that much. We are used to that. In addition to that the German candidate and her producer were involved in a scandal about inflated CD sales and didn’t leave a very good impression.
Actually watching her career go up in smoke is by far the most fun this evening.
(… Schadenfreude, our favourite national pastime)
Wish I could have joined in the chat while it was on, but was streaming it here. Very odd to watch it on my computer, in the back yard, in Las Vegas with the temperature of 103,
Unitl I heard the UK entry, I had no idea the capital of UK is Istanbul…what the hell kind of song was that supposed to be? Ireland was far too kind in voting for that mess. Germany tanked, no surprise, although I don’t think they were the worst.
I actually liked Malta…very nice song and the woman really could sing as well.
How Greece won is a mystery…well, I mean, I watched the counting of the votes, but the song itself was, well, like every other Greek song I have ever heard for the past 30 years.
The internet streaming had a few glitches, but all in all, it was a kick to watch it live again. Thank you again, flodnak for letting me know about the on-line broadcast! BTW, I thought Norway was, uh, interesting…but they had no real chance of winning considering the audience for this show. Still, they were quite good in a retro/KISS/glamjam kinda way.
There were so many etno songs with heavy drums I couldn’t tell them apart. Elena, who won, is actually from Gothenburg, Sweden, which is a small comfort for us who have to be in the semi final next year. And no, surgery is not part of her looks - she’s not very attractive in real life though.
It was really one of the weakest finals in many years. No real hit that we’ll hear on the radio all over the summer. And my, oh my, Clairol has sold a lot of bleach in the former eastern block.
And the female presenter - was she on drugs?
Aren’t they always?
Erm, and for the record, everybody: Norwegians like Swedes, really. We just like them best right after we’ve kicked their butts at something. It’s childish and silly and it isn’t entirely serious, but there you have it. And of course, this year being The One Hundredth Anniversary Of The Dissolution Of The Union Between Sweden And Norway ™, which was entirely Norway’s idea and frankly a bit of an underhanded trick that we’re still a bit surprised we got away with, everything’s even more complicated than usual.
Incidentally, am I mistaken, or are the four large countries that will always be in the final identical to the four large countries that finished at the very bottom of the list? And for that matter, why didn’t Italy vote? (I know why Lebanon didn’t vote…)
Italy didn’t vote because they haven’t taken part in the Eurovision song contest for some years now. Apparently, others just don’t understand their music and they got pissed off… 
I watched about half of the contest, but around the sixth song featuring “ethnic” drums I went to sleep. Ah well, it’s not like I missed much.
We’re a bit surprised you got away with it too.
I’ll give you a good deal, Norway. You can have Norrland for free, as long as you take care of everyone there who’re living of the welfare state.
You think we haven’t noticed? I don’t know about Spain, France and Germany, but the UK strategy is clear:
• The presentation from the Ukraine was entirely in English.
• Out of 24 songs entered into the competition, 15 were entirely in English and 2 of the others were mostly English. Even the Ukrainian anthem for the Orange Revolution had some English lyrics.
• Out of 39 countries voting, 34 announced their results in English – including Switzerland, and French is one of their official languages!
In five years time, when the French entry is in English, we plan to simply declare victory by the back door and take our ball home. (On the same day we’ll be opening Hell as an ice rink).
I am still trying to figure out how Greece won.
It wasn’t the worst song of the night, but did I miss something? How did so many countries decide it was the best of the lot? Seriously…it sounded like every other Greek pop hit over the past 30 years. Is Greek folk music an up-and-coming trend in Europe?
I sort of liked the old rules where the song had to be in the native language, but I guess in a way, that did lead to an advantage for UK and Ireland.
Also, I wasn’t aware Italy had left the competition in a snit. When did that happen?