The major event of the last week was certainly the triumphant final of the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time held in Russia. Alexander Rybak representing Norway became the winner in a close contest in the final. Alexander was born in Minsk, Byelorussia, and considers the Russian language to be his mother tongue. The singer scored 387 points, which is a record number in the history of Eurovision. The Byelorussian singer from Norway performed his own song in English on the stage of Olimpiysky Arena.

Results of Eurovision 2009

1. Norway, Alexander Rybak Fairytale 387 points
2. Iceland, Yohanna Is It True? 218
3. Azerbaijan, AySel & Arash Always 207
4. Turkey, Hadise Düm Tek Tek 177
5. United Kingdom, Jade Ewen It`s My Time 173
6. Estonia, Urban Symphony Rändajad 129
7. Greece, Sakis Rouvas This is our night 120
8. France, Patricia Kaas Et s`il fallait le faire 107
9. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Regina Bistra voda 106
10. Armenia, Inga & Anush Nor Par (Jan Jan) 92
11. Russia, Anastasia Prikhodko Мамо 91
12. Ukraine, Svetlana Loboda Be my Valentine! (Anti-crisis Girl) 76
13. Denmark, Brinck Believe Again 74
14. Moldova, Nelly Ciobanu Hora din Moldova 69
15. Portugal, Flor-de-Lis Todas As Ruas Do Amor 57
16. Israel, Noa & Mira Awad There Must Be Another Way 53
17. Albania, Kejsi Tola Carry me in your dreams 48
18. Croatia, Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea, LIJEPA TENA 45
19. Romania, Elena The Balkan Girls 40
20. Germany, Alex Swings & Oscar Sings Miss Kiss Kiss Bang 35
21. Sweden, Malena Ernman La voix 33
22. Malta, Chiara What If We 31
23. Lithuania, Sasha Son, Love 23
24. Spain, Soraya La Noche es Para MÍ (The Night Is For Me) 23
25. Finland, Waldo’s People Lose Control 22

      The General Manager of the First Channel Konstantin Ernst told about the contest’s budget which, as assessed by experts, exceeded two times the Eurovision expenses in Serbia, where about 24 million Euros were spent.

“We got 1 milliard roubles from the Government of Russia. Above that we had the Eurovision contribution – that is not a big amount (according to the data of EMU, the contribution makes about 30 per cent of the contest production costs), and the Moscow Government also helped (it allocated about 200 million roubles). All the rest was due to the First Channel", - Mr. Ernst stated.

It was clear from the very beginning, that nobody could expect any profit. “Holding the Olympics or the Cannes Film Festival is also unprofitable, but when the events of such level are concerned, then the image of a big event is created. It is important for us to be able to break down the stereotypes, which the majority of Europeans still have about our country” – Mr. Ernst pointed out.

The best world specialists were engaged in organization of the contest in Moscow. The show producer and consultant was Tarmo Krimm from Estonia, for whom it was already the eighth time in this role in Eurovision. The largest stage in the history of Eurovision (1.5 thousand square meters) was contrived by the New York designer John Casey, who was inspired, as he said, by the Russian avant-garde. The lighting was arranged by Al Gordon from England. The show director from the Russian side was Andrei Boltenko, the chief director of the First Channel.

Sources:
    trud.ru
    eurovisionrus.ru
    eurovision-rus.ru