Eurovision Song Contest 2007
| Eurovision Song Contest 2007 | |
|---|---|
| True Fantasy | |
| Dates | |
| Semi-final | 10 May 2007 |
| Final | 12 May 2007 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Hartwall Areena Helsinki, Finland |
| Presenter(s) |
|
| Executive producer | Heikki Seppälä |
| Director | Timo Suomi |
| Executive supervisor | Svante Stockselius |
| Host broadcaster | Yleisradio (YLE) |
| Website | eurovision |
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 42 |
| Number of finalists | 24 |
| Debuting countries | |
| Returning countries | |
| Non-returning countries | Monaco |
Participation map
| |
| Vote | |
| Voting system | Each country awarded 12, 10, 8–1 point(s) to their 10 favourite songs. |
| Winning song | |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the 2006 contest with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Yleisradio (YLE), the contest was held at the Hartwall Areena and consisted of a semi-final on 10 May and a final on 12 May 2007. The two live shows were presented by Finnish television presenter Jaana Pelkonen and musician and TV-host Mikko Leppilampi. In addition, Krisse Salminen acted as guest host in the green room and reported from the crowds at the Senate Square.
Forty-two countries participated in the contest—three more than the previous record of thirty-nine that took part in 2005. The EBU decided to put aside its limit of 40 countries, which would have meant excluding some countries using a ranking order scheme. The Czech Republic and Georgia participated for the first time this year, with Montenegro and Serbia taking part as independent nations for the first time. Austria and Hungary both returned after their absence from the previous edition. Meanwhile, Monaco decided not to participate, despite initially confirming participation. Monaco has not competed in Eurovision Song Contest ever since.
The winner was Serbia with the song "Molitva", performed by Marija Šerifović and written by Vladimir Graić and Saša Milošević Mare. This was Serbia's first victory in the contest, coincidentally the first year it competed as an independent nation. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since "Diva" for Israel in 1998. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and Bulgaria rounded out the top five. Further down the table, Belarus achieved their best placing to date, finishing sixth. Meanwhile, Ireland achieved its worst placing in the contest up until that point, finishing twenty-fourth (last place) in the final. Of the "Big Four" countries, Germany placed the highest, finishing nineteenth.