EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2005
Relive the moment - the 50th Anniversary of Eurovision!
2005 was staged in Kiev, Ukraine after the country’s very first win the previous year with Ruslana, and only two years after Ukraine’s first appearance at Eurovision.
Thirty-nine countries participated and this was the second time that the concert featured semi finals due to the growing list of participating countries. This meant that, unfortunately, some countries didn’t get to qualify through to the Grand Final. Ukraine was exempt, being the host nation, as were the UK, Germany, France and Spain, who automatically qualify to the Grand Final each year, because of their big financial contributions made to the Contest.
The semi-final was held on 19 May and the Grand Final was held on 21 May 2005. The standard of entries were very high and here’s a sample of the musical gems on show, starting with a very memorable winner:
GREECE
Helena Paparizou – My Number One - Winner
Greece first participated in the Contest in 1974, and had to wait 31 years for its first Eurovision victory. Singer Helena Paparizou was born in Sweden to Greek parents, and attended singing, dancing and theatre classes at an early age. In her teens, she had already formed a girl band. This is Helena’s second appearance at Eurovision. She was part of a girl duo called Antique, representing Greece in 2001. Her winning entry for 2005 was very well staged and presented, and heavily influenced by traditional Greek music.
We think you will agree that Helena had a very worthy win that year, and her success saw the contest move to Athens following her victory.
CYPRUS
Constantinos Christoforou – Ela Ela (Come Baby) – 18th Place
This was Constantinos’s third time at Eurovision. For 2005 he performed a very up-beat number, in marked contrast to his first visit to the Eurovision stage in 1996. Back then he performed a beautiful ballad, and then went on to be lead singer of boy band, One, in 2002, thus showcasing his talents to sing any genre of music. He has also performed with Greek singer, Sakis Rouvas (himself a two time contestant at Eurovision for Greece).
DENMARK
Jakob Sveistrup – Talking To You – 10th place
Jakob was originally a teacher for autistic children, but switched careers to become a professional musician. He was a competitor in the 2003 edition of the Danish talent show, “Star for a Night”, where he made it to the Finals. He entered and won the Danish National Selection, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, for the chance to represent Denmark with this cheerful little ditty.
Jakob was a guest performer at “Congratulations”, the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark later the same year.
ICELAND
Selma – It I Had Your Love – Failed to Qualify
This was Selma’s second time at Eurovision. She entered in 1999, and was a hot contender to win, but was beaten into second place by Charlotte Nilsson of Sweden that year. Despite a great performance and a good song, she failed to qualify in the Semi-final second time around. One of the biggest upsets of the Contest that year.
LATVIA
Walter and Kazha – The War Is Not Over – 5th place
Walter and Kazha (or the give their full names – Valters Fridenbergs and Karlis Bumeisters) did Latvia proud with this lovely gentle number, making it Latvia’s third best result. Sadly, Valters life was cut short at aged 30, when he passed away from cancer in October 2018.
MALTA Chiara – Angel – 2nd place
Chiara is another return contestant, having represented Malta three times – in 1998 (3rd place), 2005 (2nd place) and 2009 (22nd place). This makes her the third most successful artist that hasn’t won the contest (behind Germany's Katja Ebstein and Wind). She also went on to be the spokesperson for Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, giving the points awarded from the Maltese voting in the final.
NORTH MACEDONIA
Martin Vučic – Make My Day – 17th place
Martin’s interest in music was cultivated at a young age, learning how to play drums and participating in many music festivals across his home country. He now teaches percussion at various Music Colleges. In 2008, he released an album of instrumental music featuring traditional musical instruments, set to music composed by his grandfather and in 2018, he became Manager of Tanec, a musical ensemble that highlights the folklore musical and dance tradition of Macedonia.
NORWAY
Wig Wam – In My Dreams – 9th place
Now for a bit of glam rock! The group entered the Norwegian National Finals in 2004 and just narrowly failed to win. They succeeded the second time around the following year, and this entry was popular all around Scandinavia. The flamboyant lead singer is Åge Sten Nilsen.
SWEDEN
Martin Stenmarck – Las Vegas – 19th place
Martin is a popular singer and actor from Sweden. He has an extensive catalogue of recordings from 2000 onwards.