Eurovision Song Contest 2007

The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following Lordi's win at the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah". The contest was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May, and staged by host broadcaster Yle.
A budget of EUR13 million was presented for arranging the contest. Other bids to host the contest came from Espoo, Turku and Tampere. The hosts were Finnish television personality Jaana Pelkonen and Finnish musician, stage performer and actor Mikko Leppilampi. Krisse Salminen acted as guest host in the green room, and reported from the crowds at the Senate Square.
A record number of 42 countries participated. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) put aside its limit of 40 countries, which would have meant excluding some countries using a ranking order scheme.
The winner was Serbia, appearing as an independent country for the first time.
After Lordi scored the first ever Eurovision victory with a hard rock song, several countries sent rock songs to the Contest rather than the soft pop and schlager styles more closely associated with Eurovision. This trend continued at the 2008 and 2009 Contests.
Cyprus and Latvia entered songs in languages other than their own or English. Although this happened with the Belgium 2003 entry, this was the first time the contest featured countries doing this with actual languages as opposed to an imaginary one.
Participating countries
Participating countries in a Eurovision Song Contest must be active members of the EBU.
42 countries submitted preliminary applications. Although in previous years the maximum number of participating countries was 40, the EBU allowed all 42 to participate in 2007. The Czech Republic, Serbia, Montenegro and Georgia all entered the contest for the first time in 2007. Monaco announced its withdrawal on 12 December 2006, and the EBU announced the final lineup of 42 countries on 15 December 2006.
Returning artists
Evridiki returned to represent Cyprus, having previously represented the nation in 1992 and 1994. Eirikur Hauksson previously represented Iceland in 1986 as part of the vocal trio ICY and he previously represented Norway in 1991 as part of the group Just 4 Fun. Karolina Goceva previously represented Macedonia in 2002. Edsilia Rombley previously represented the Netherlands in 1998.
Semi-final
The semi-final was held on 10 May 2007 at 21:00 (CET). 28 countries performed and all 42 participants voted.
Countries qualified for the final are highlighted.
Notes
1.Contained some words in French and Spanish.
2.Although the song was performed in English, the title and sentence in the lyrics "Ven a bailar conmigo" is in Spanish.
Final
The finalists were:
the four automatic qualifiers France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom;
the top 10 countries from the 2006 final (other than the automatic qualifiers);
the top 10 countries from the 2007 semi-final.
The final was held on 12 May 2007 at 21:00 (CET) and was won by Serbia.
Notes
3.Contained some words in English.
References
2007
2007 in music
Helsinki
2007 in Europe
2000s in Finland