Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Grand Final

Host country: Sweden (SVT)
Venue: Malmö Arena
Hosts: Petra Mede
Date: Saturday 18 May 2013
Winner: Denmark - Emmelie de Forest "Only Teardrops" (281 points)

N.B. Any use of "tonight" or "this evening" throughout this post means Saturday 18 May 2013.

The Opening

After the usual Eurovision ident accompanied by Charpentier's Te Deum prelude "Marche en rondeau", there was a rapid sequence of flashbacks to Sweden's win in Baku last year. This was followed by a caterpillar journey from Baku to Malmö. The caterpillar left Baku and took a tour of Europe, travelling by hot air balloon, boat and other means as far as Paris, where a shot of the Eiffel Tower was shown. From Gare du Nord the caterpillar travelled north on a train. Upon reaching the Danish end of the Öresund Bridge, the caterpillar turned into a chrysalis, and shortly afterwards emerged as the Eurovision Butterfly, the logo for this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Finally the butterfly flew across the water to the Malmö Arena.

Inside the Arena, a choir sang the new Eurovision Anthem "We Write The Story", written by Benny and Bjorn of ABBA. A bridge representing the Öresund Bridge spanned the Arena and all 26 finalists, bearing flags, walked across it. Once all finalists had crossed the bridge, Petra Mede introduced the show.

The Songs

Just over 13 minutes after the start of the show it was time for the first song. Each song was introduced by a postcard film related to the appropriate country, which included a flying butterfly in the appropriate flag design. Furthermore UK BBC One / BBC One HD viewers had Graham Norton's commentary over the postcard films (I've mentioned a few of Graham's comments at various points hereafter; if you saw the Contest outside the UK you won't have heard his comments).

N.B. Looking at the results, there was one tied position: Moldova and Belgium both amassed 71 points each. However the EBU has separated them into 11th place and 12th place respectively. I have taken the following points and placings from the official Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Grand Final web page, which I believe and trust as the only official source.

Song 1: France - Amandine Bourgeois "L'enfer Et Moi" (23rd place, 14 points)

The first song in the line-up was from one of the Big Five nations France. It began with two gently paced verses, both of which were followed by upbeat choruses. Unfortunately the song was heavily murdered towards the end which, in my opinion, totally ruined what could so far at best be described as an average song. 23rd place and 14 points was as much as it deserved, I was amazed it didn't finish lower still.

Song 2: Lithuania - Andrius Pojavis "Something" (22nd place, 17 points)

A semi-final 1 entry I didn't really want to qualify, a ballad from Lithuania. A reasonable ballad, which I liked more in the final than in the semi-final. Compared to France's entry, this seemed considerably better. 22nd place and 17 points was to be expected, though if that's what this deserved, France deserved a couple of places lower than 23rd.

Song 3: Moldova - Aliona Moon "O Mie" (11th place, 71 points)

Another semi-final 1 entry I didn't really want to qualify. Most of this ballad was of average quality, but Aliona made it way too overpowering towards the end, thereby spoiling it. Aliona was accompanied by the backing group's dance routine which I enjoyed trying to copy. There was also the additional gimmick of the flame effect near the end; it's clever how they did that. This was over-rated at 11th place and 71 points; 15th was about the most this deserved.

Song 4: Finland - Krista Siegfrids "Marry Me" (24th place, 13 points)

The first Nordic entry of the night, an upbeat song with the gimmick of the backing group lifting Krista part way through. The backing group also performed a series of dance moves, some of which I enjoyed copying. Other gimmicks included placing the veil over Krista's head, and the kiss at the end. Another entry to be valued more for the dance moves and gimmicks than the song itself; 24th place and 13 points was as much as this deserved. I'd sooner this hadn't even qualified from semi-final 2; Israel, San Marino or Switzerland deserved the place this took.

Song 5: Spain - ESDM "Contigo Hasta El Final (With You Until The End)" (25th place, 8 points)

The second Big Five entry of the night, Spain. The song consisted of two gentle verses and considerably livelier choruses. It was sung by a lady in a yellow dress, who raised her arms in a similar manner to Loreen last year. She was accompanied by a drummer and guitarists. Altogether a reasonable song, to me it seemed better than France who had performed earlier, but definitely a bottom ten contender. This finished second last with just 8 points; it really deserved a higher placing than France.

Song 6: Belgium - Roberto Bellarosa "Love Kills" (12th place, 71 points)

The first half decent song of the night; this was one of the borderline semi-final 1 contenders I didn't mind qualifying. A ballad whose first verse was rather slow and a little dull, but the chorus was lively and catchy. Roberto sang well and was accompanied by two backing ladies whose dance routine I enjoyed copying. 12th place and 71 points was about right for this middle of the road ballad.

Song 7: Estonia - Birgit "Et Uus Saaks Alguse" (20th place, 19 points)

Another song I didn't really want to see in the final. A ballad which began with a monochrome effect for some mysterious reason. Altogether a reasonable ballad; its gentle verses were rather good, but its choruses were a bit overpowering for the verses. 20th place and 19 points was about right for this song.

Song 8: Belarus - Alyona Lanskaya "Solayoh" (16th place, 48 points)

Now for one of the entries I most wanted to qualify from semi-final 1, Belarus. The song itself may not have been one of the best, the key selling points of this entry were Alyona's arm movements and the men's well-choreographed dance routine in time with the accompanying beat. This was the golden opportunity to join in and copy the dance routine, and that's just what I did. Or to put it another way, an adult kids' Boogie Beebies big video. This deserved slightly higher than 16th place and 48 points; 11th to 15th would have been appropriate, but it wasn't good enough for top ten.

Song 9: Malta - Gianluca "Tomorrow" (8th place, 120 points)

One of the semi-final 2 contenders I most wanted to qualify. A rather catchy folk style song featuring a male singer with a drummer and others behind him. The lyrics appeared on the background screens in a variety of styles; any reason for that? Although not as outstanding as Norway's "Fairytale" in 2009 this was definitely the best song so far in the 2013 Grand Final, very well sung. It certainly deserved its 8th place and 120 points but wasn't good enough for top five.

Song 10: Russia - Dina Garipova "What If" (5th place, 174 points)

One of the semi-final 1 contenders I most wanted to qualify. This beautiful ballad from Russia was an enormous improvement on last year's garbage from the Russian Grannies. Russia definitely deserved its place in the 2013 Grand Final with "What If". An excellent ballad which was very well sung this evening. 5th place and 174 points was just right, although it deserved its top five placing it wasn't good enough for a victory.

Song 11: Germany - Cascada "Glorious" (21st place, 18 points)

The third Big Five entry of this evening, Germany; a power ballad sung by a female soloist. Was it really necessary for her to sing standing on top of a table for most of the song? Near the end she walked along the path towards the audience. Better than France or Spain, but on the whole another below par song. 21st place and 18 points was about as much as it deserved, it certainly didn't merit a top twenty placing.

Song 12: Armenia - Dorians "Lonely Planet" (18th place, 41 points)

During the preceding postcard film, Graham Norton said it was a bit of a shock that Armenia reached the final. Whilst watching semi-final 2, I regarded this as a borderline contender which I didn't mind qualifying, but wasn't desperately keen to see tonight. This power ballad wasn't bad, though some bits were a bit overdone. Thank goodness it wasn't the Eurovision Dress Contest, because just like in semi-final 2, the lead singer was rather scruffily dressed; his jeans had holes in them which surely doesn't create a good first impression. In my opinion, a better power ballad than Germany, but again not a song to be rated highly. 18th place and 41 points was just about right, this definitely wasn't good enough for top 15.

There was a break at this point. Petra Mede reappeared to give a short speech. This was followed by a comedy film of Stockholm.

Song 13: The Netherlands - Anouk "Birds" (9th place, 114 points)

Well done to the Netherlands in reaching the Grand Final for the first time since 2004. This was an excellent ballad which was very well sung. My only dislike was it sounded rather sorrowful and depressing. Still that really made it stand out from many of the other songs. This finished with a well-earned 9th place and 114 points, I think it could perhaps have merited being two or three places higher.

Song 14: Romania - Cezar "It's My Life" (13th place, 65 points)

Wow, this was all kinds of everything! Having started as an upbeat ballad, it morphed into popped-up opera from the first chorus onwards. A somewhat bizarre combination to say the least! Cezar pitched really high on the middle eight, well done him. As if all that wasn't enough, a few stroboscopic effects were thrown in, though I question the need for their presence in this song. Perhaps this should best be valued for the somewhat elaborate dance routine, which included moves I was able to enjoy copying, and clever formations viewers daren't attempt! This is an entry I'd have preferred not to have reached the final. It was grossly over-rated to finish on 13th place and 65 points, it should have finished in the bottom ten. Better still, Israel, San Marino or Switzerland better deserved the place this took.

Song 15: United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler "Believe In Me" (19th place, 23 points)

Now for the UK, the fourth Big Five entry of this evening. When I watched the preview videos on the eurovision.tv website a couple of weeks before tonight's final, "Believe In Me" seemed one of the best of this year's 39 songs, and I had high hopes for it. Quite frankly I was quite disappointed with Bonnie's live performance in the Grand Final. "Believe In Me" was quite a nice song, and the first couple of lines of the chorus were quite catchy. However this evening I thought Bonnie's voice wasn't strong enough, and the song somehow didn't have the winning oomph of "Love Shine A Light" in 1997. I wasn't surprised it finished 19th place with 23 points. That said, I think this was better than Armenia and Romania, and ought perhaps to have been placed 13th or thereabouts, but it definitely wasn't good enough for top ten.

Song 16: Sweden - Robin Stjernberg "You" (14th place, 62 points)

Now for the host nation Sweden. A middle of the road power ballad, to me this seemed better than "When Spirits Are Calling My Name" the last time Sweden hosted the Contest in 2000, but this was a rather lame song compared to "Euphoria" last year. Robin's voice was powerful on the rather catchy choruses, but a bit weak on the verses. Just like several other of tonight's entries, this song was enhanced by the backing group's impressive dancing and acrobatics. The middle of the road 14th place and 62 points was just right for this middle of the road song; it definitely wasn't good enough for top ten.

Song 17: Hungary - ByeAlex "Kedvesem (Zoohacker Remix)" (10th place, 84 points)

Another borderline semi-final 2 contender which I didn't mind reaching the final, but wasn't desperate to see tonight. This was a roly poly sort of song, which reminded me of a song that was in the UK hit parade in the late 1970s, but I'm not sure what. Another middle of the road song which was quite well sung. 10th place and 84 points was about right for this entry, it certainly didn't deserve a higher placing.

Song 18: Denmark - Emmelie de Forest "Only Teardrops" (Winner, 281 points)

The bookies' favourite to win, and one of the songs I most wanted to qualify from semi-final 1. I was really pleased to see this reach the final. The song includes gentle verses, and really fast upbeat choruses, accompanied appropriately by a beautiful piping sound and the drums. Just like in semi-final 1, tonight's performance was first class. Altogether a catchy song which definitely deserved to win with 281 points.

Song 19: Iceland - Eythor Ingi "Ég Á Líf" (17th place, 47 points)

The one song I wanted to qualify more than any other in semi-final 2, and I was extremely delighted to see it reach the Grand Final. A beautiful, soothing lullaby ballad from Iceland, or to put it another way, the adult kids' version of the CBeebies Goodnight Song. Definitely the sort of thing tonight's final needed and deserved. Eythor gave an outstanding performance of this excellent song, all the better for it being sung in native Icelandic. Grossly under-rated at 17th place and 47 points, this should have finished in the top three.

Song 20: Azerbaijan - Farid Mammadov "Hold Me" (2nd place, 234 points)

Another excellent ballad I particularly wanted to qualify from semi-final 2. This was slightly more upbeat than Azerbaijan's winning song "Running Scared" in 2011. This year they had the gimmick of Farid singing on top of the box during the first verse and first chorus, and someone else inside the box copying or mirroring his movements. I particularly liked most of the song, but felt the style of singing during the middle eight was slightly inappropriate for this type of song. One other surprise was the lady who appeared for the middle eight and final chorus. Altogether an excellent entry which definitely deserved a top five placing, though I think 2nd place and 234 points was a bit generous. 3rd or 4th would have been more appropriate.

Song 21: Greece - Koza Mostra feat. Agathon Iakovidis "Alcohol Is Free" (6th place, 152 points)

The one entry I least wanted to qualify from semi-final 2, a load of trash which sounded as though it was being sung by drunken yobs. I shouted "boo" and "off" and hissed throughout this performance, and was glad when it ended. In my opinion, this was best suited to a stag party disco, and not the sort of thing to have in Eurovision. This was grossly over-rated at 6th place and 152 points, I was hoping it would finish last with nul points (or failing that last with no more than its almost certain 12 points from Cyprus). Better still this shouldn't have qualified; Israel, San Marino or Switzerland deserved the place taken by Greece.

Song 22: Ukraine - Zlata Ognevich "Gravity" (3rd place, 214 points)

My least disliked of my "prefer not to qualify" entries in semi-final 1, by this evening I didn't mind seeing it in the final. A power ballad, with an appropriate use of arm movements. It was interesting to see the fork of lightning on the background screens as Zlata sang "Like a strike of thunder", and to hear a few mentions of "I'm like a butterfly" when this year's Contest logo was the butterfly. Based solely on the live grand final performance, quite a reasonable power ballad which was very well sung, but I don't think it was as good as Verka Serduchka's memorable runner-up entry in 2007, or this year's entry from Azerbaijan. 3rd place and 214 points was a bit generous for this, 5th would have been a better placing.

Song 23: Italy - Marco Mengoni "L'Essenziale" (7th place, 126 points)

The fifth and last Big Five entry, Italy. A very good ballad which was well sung and which I generally liked. However I think Marco's rather overpowering style of singing near the end was inappropriate for what was generally a gentle ballad. This was the highest placed Big Five entry, with a well-earned 7th place and 126 points. I think it deserved slightly higher, 4th to 6th perhaps but not a winner.

Song 24: Norway - Margaret Berger "I Feed You My Love" (4th place, 191 points)

My least disliked of the four countries (Finland, Greece, Norway, Romania) I would rather not have qualified from semi-final 2. A female soloist performing a power ballad, enhanced by her intermittent arm movements and the drummer. Were the wobbly background noise and stroboscopic effects at the start, and certain other bits, really necessary? In my opinion, this was rather over-rated at 4th place and 191 points, it may have merited 8th to 10th at best but definitely not a top five placing. Altogether not Norway's best effort, this was nowhere near as good as their memorable winning entry "Fairytale" in 2009.

Song 25: Georgia - Nodi Tatishvili & Sophie Gelovani "Waterfall" (15th place, 50 points)

Last year Georgia entered "I'm A Joker", which I detested and was glad it didn't reach the final. This year Georgia went for something light years better, a decent duet ballad, which had a catchy chorus. It was very well sung, with the added enhancement of the waterfall effect on the screens most of the song, and the pyrotechnics near the end. This was grossly under-rated at 15th place and 50 points, 4th to 6th would have been more appropriate.

Song 26: Ireland - Ryan Dolan "Only Love Survives" (26th place, 5 points)

The last song of the night, which sadly finished last in the pecking order! Although not one of the semi-final 1 participants I most want to see qualify, I ended up pleased to see it in the final. This year Ireland went for a power ballad, accompanied by drums and bodhráns. In my opinion, not as good as Jedward's efforts in 2011 and 2012. Nonetheless "Only Love Survives" was a good song, and well performed. Graham Norton's comment that this could win may have been over-optimistic but this definitely didn't deserve to come last with just 5 points. It deserved much better than that; 8th to 12th would have been a more appropriate placing.

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Tele-voting and Recap

At this point Petra Mede reappeared to announce the start of the voting. The voting lines opened and a recap of the songs followed. Viewers had about 15 minutes in which to cast their votes. When the UK's song extract appeared, a caption at the bottom of the screen stated "UK VIEWERS CANNOT VOTE FOR THE UK ENTRY" and "Your vote won't count and you may still be charged." Were any UK viewers foolish enough to try dialling the voting stem with 15 at the end? I voted for Iceland, Netherlands and Denmark.

At the end of the recap last year's winner Loreen performed a medley of her songs, one of which was last year's Eurovision Song Contest winner "Euphoria". After that there was a second recap of tonight's finalists. Finally there was a ten second countdown to the moment the lines closed. Closure of the lines was made quite clear; Petra said "Europe stop voting now!" and a caption said "LINES ARE NOW CLOSED". To be doubly sure, Petra then said "The lines are now closed for voting".

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Interval Act

The main interval act was Swedish Smörgåsbord, a song performed by Petra Mede. The song mentioned various Swedish things such as IKEA and a brief snippet of Carola's 1991 Eurovision Song Contest win, as well as recycling for some inexplicable reason (along with wheely bins on stage); I didn't know recycling was Swedish. Not bad but I personally didn't think it was as good as the interval act Guitars Unlimited with Swedish Evergreens when Sweden hosted the Eurovision Song Contest from Gothenburg in 1985.

After that there was a brief history of Eurovision, featuring clips from past Eurovision Song Contests and accompanying comments. Finally a Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden would not be complete without an ABBA song, and unsurprisingly Sarah Dawn Finer sang "The Winner Takes It All". The perfect ABBA song to perform just as the voting was about to start because, let's face it, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 would indeed take the winning title and trophy.

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Voting Time

All 39 countries, including the 13 which failed to qualify, voted in the final. The voting order was:
San Marino, Sweden, Albania, The Netherlands, Austria, United Kingdom, Israel, Serbia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Norway, Armenia, Italy, Finland, Spain, Belarus, Latvia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Russia, Malta, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, France, Greece, Ireland, Denmark, Montenegro, Slovenia, Georgia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Cyprus, Croatia, Switzerland, Lithuania.

From the start this year's voting was going to be interesting for a few reasons: 1) Portugal, Turkey and Bosnia & Herzegovina did not enter this year; 2) the five ex-Yugoslav countries that entered (Croatia, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia) plus Albania all failed to reach the final (and would therefore not be able to vote for each other, but would still vote for the finalists); 3) Belgium and Netherlands both reached the final.

Denmark was strongly tipped to win, even before the semi-finals. However early on it looked as though they wouldn't win. San Marino, who voted first, gave Greece 12 points (and hence an initial lead), and no points at all to Denmark. Sweden, who voted next, were the first country to give points to Denmark; they gave 10 points to Denmark, and nothing to Greece. Albania gave 1 point to Denmark and higher scores to various other countries including Greece, thereby pushing Denmark down the leader board to 7th place. The Netherlands gave 10 points to Denmark pushing them momentarily to 4th place, until they gave 12 points to Belgium! Austria gave 5 points to Denmark; after allowing for their higher points to other countries Denmark's position was 4th place when Austria finished voting. The UK's 12 points to Denmark put Denmark at the top of the leader board for the first time, albeit joint leadership with Greece at the time. Israel gave 2 points to Greece and 8 points to Denmark, thereby giving Denmark a clear lead for the first time. After that, Denmark kept their place at the top of the leader board for the rest of the voting.

Whereas last year 18 countries gave 12 points to the 2012 winner Sweden, this year's voting was much more disjointed. 13 of the 26 finalists received at least one 12 point vote. The number of 12 point votes received by each of those 13 countries is shown in the table below.

Country	No of 12s Received
Azerbaijan	10
Denmark	8
Ukraine	5
Italy	3
Norway	3
Greece	2
Russia	2
Belarus	1
Belgium	1
Hungary	1
Moldova	1
Sweden	1
The Netherlands	1

Notice that the most 12-point scores were received by Azerbaijan, who finished second overall. The 2013 winners Denmark received the second highest number of 12-point scores. This just goes to show that the country who receives the most 12-point scores doesn't necessarily win.

The eight countries who awarded 12 points to Denmark were: United Kingdom, Serbia, Italy, Iceland, France, Ireland, Slovenia, F.Y.R. Macedonia. 29 countries gave between 1 and 10 points to Denmark. Interestingly Denmark received at least one each of each points level (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-10-12). San Marino was the only country (other than Denmark itself) not to give Denmark any points at all.

The complete list of 12-point scores and points awarded to Denmark is shown below:

#	Calling country	12 points to	Points to Denmark
1	San Marino	Greece	0
2	Sweden	Norway	10
3	Albania	Italy	1
4	The Netherlands	Belgium	10
5	Austria	Azerbaijan	5
6	United Kingdom	Denmark	12
7	Israel	Azerbaijan	8
8	Serbia	Denmark	12
9	Ukraine	Belarus	5
10	Hungary	Azerbaijan	10
11	Romania	Moldova	6
12	Moldova	Ukraine	6
13	Azerbaijan	Ukraine	5
14	Norway	Sweden	7
15	Armenia	Ukraine	4
16	Italy	Denmark	12
17	Finland	Norway	7
18	Spain	Italy	8
19	Belarus	Ukraine	1
20	Latvia	Russia	6
21	Bulgaria	Azerbaijan	2
22	Belgium	The Netherlands	10
23	Russia	Azerbaijan	4
24	Malta	Azerbaijan	6
25	Estonia	Russia	8
26	Germany	Hungary	10
27	Iceland	Denmark	12
28	France	Denmark	12
29	Greece	Azerbaijan	7
30	Ireland	Denmark	12
31	Denmark	Norway	n/a
32	Montenegro	Azerbaijan	10
33	Slovenia	Denmark	12
34	Georgia	Azerbaijan	7
35	F.Y.R. Macedonia	Denmark	12
36	Cyprus	Greece	7
37	Croatia	Ukraine	10
38	Switzerland	Italy	3
39	Lithuania	Azerbaijan	2

Mutual 12 Points
The following three pairs of countries gave each other 12 points:
Belarus ↔ Ukraine
Belgium ↔ The Netherlands (hardly surprising, they are two neighbouring Benelux countries)
Norway ↔ Sweden (again hardly surprising, they are two neighbouring Nordic countries)

Obviously Greece wasn't able to give 12 points to Cyprus this year as they failed to reach the final. However Cyprus, who nonetheless voted in the final gave its 12 points to Greece as expected.

The five Nordic countries exchanged points with each other as follows:

Calling country	Denmark	Finland	Iceland	Norway	Sweden
Denmark	n/a	2	1	12	8
Finland	7	n/a	5	12	4
Iceland	12	0	n/a	10	4
Norway	7	0	4	n/a	12
Sweden	10	0	6	12	n/a

Notice that Iceland, Norway and Sweden gave no points to Finland. Denmark gave just one point to Iceland and two points to Finland. It just goes to show, contrary to what some may think, the Nordic countries don't necessarily award points (let alone high points) to every other Nordic finalist. Interestingly based on the five Nordic countries' votes alone, Norway had the most points (46), and Denmark had the second highest number of points (36). Clearly Denmark required points from the non-Nordic countries to win the Contest overall.

A total of seven countries gave points to the UK, as follows:

Calling country	Points to UK
Ireland	7
Malta	5
Spain	4
Romania	3
Switzerland	2
Slovenia	1
Sweden	1

As can be seen, Ireland gave 7 points to the UK. Interestingly the UK gave just 1 point to Ireland.

When Belarus (country 19 of 39) voted, Graham Norton said "Ooh, only one for Denmark, so there's gonna be a shake-up on the leader board".

After Latvia (country 20 of 39) voted there was a short break. After the break Graham commented on Denmark's progress: "It's in the lead, but it's not a runaway yet.". Bulgaria were the first country to vote after that break.

When France (country 28 of 39) gave 12 points to Denmark, Graham said "It might all be over now, but you never know." At the time the latest running totals were 1st Denmark 199, 2nd Azerbaijan 160; i.e. a margin of 39 points between first and second place. With 11 countries still to vote, one of which was Denmark, there were still 120 points available to Denmark and 132 points available to any other country; therefore Denmark could still be caught and overtaken.

Just as F.Y.R. Macedonia (country 35 of 39) were about to announce their points, Graham said "I don't think Bonnie can win now". Of course she couldn't! With the UK on 21 points so far, the most it could have finished on would have been 81, even if the UK had received 12 points from each of the remaining five countries including F.Y.R. Macedonia.

As soon as F.Y.R. Macedonia had awarded 12 points to Denmark (and no points at all to Azerbaijan or Ukraine), Graham said "So that's it, Denmark have won, they can't be caught now.". The latest running totals were now 1st Denmark 259, 2nd Azerbaijan 201; i.e. a margin of 58 points between first and second place. With just four countries left to vote, and hence 48 (4 x 12) points still available to Azerbaijan, the worst case scenario that could have occurred thereafter would have been 1st Denmark 259, 2nd Azerbaijan 249. Denmark really were now uncatchable. Although the voting wasn't yet finished, Petra Mede announced that Denmark had won before continuing with the rest of the voting.

Denmark won with 281 points. With a possible maximum of 12 points from each of the other 38 countries (including the 13 semi-finalists which failed to qualify), i.e. 456, Denmark won with 61.6% of the maximum possible score. That's lower than last year when Sweden won with 75.6% of the maximum possible score for 2012, i.e. 492. The record for the winner with the highest percentage of the maximum possible score since 1975 still rests with United Kingdom - Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses For Me"; 80.4% in 1976.

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Reprise

Emmelie de Forest had already left the Green Room, and whilst crossing the arena bridge met last year's winner Loreen, who handed her the winner's trophy. After Petra Mede's very brief closing speech, Emmelie performed Denmark's winning entry "Only Teardrops" again. During this performance, the closing credits were shown on screen. As soon as the song ended the Eurovision ident accompanied by Charpentier's Te Deum prelude "Marche en rondeau" marked the official end of the show.

And Finally

Altogether another great Contest. Many thanks to SVT for producing a great final. Most of the songs were OK or very good; there were just a few that I'd rather not have qualified to the final (Lithuania, Moldova, Finland, Romania, Greece). I still think that two out of Austria, Croatia and Cyprus should have had the places taken by Lithuania and Moldova; and that Israel, San Marino and Switzerland deserved the places Finland, Romania and Greece took.

As always it was good to have a mixture of song styles in the final. You could say the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2013 had a hidden touch of CBeebies thrown in for good measure on two counts. Firstly a fair few of the finalists had dance routines one could join in and copy (adult kids' Boogie Beebies big videos); particularly Belarus. Secondly Iceland's "Ég Á Líf" was a beautiful, soothing lullaby ballad from Iceland, or to put it another way, the adult kids' version of the CBeebies Goodnight Song. It's a shame that didn't do much better than it did.

Well done Denmark, their third win to-date, having previously won in 1963 and 2000. Their latest gap between wins, 13 years (2000 to 2013) is much shorter than their previous gap between wins of 37 years (1963 to 2000). It's amazing to think that their latest win this year occurred half a century after their first ever win in 1963.

It was another disappointing result for the UK, 19th place, 23 points. I think Bonnie deserved a little higher than that, maybe 13th or thereabouts, but I don't think her performance was good enough for top ten. At least that was better than the UK's result last year: 25th place (second last), 12 points. Looking at it positively, there were seven finalists placed lower than the UK. Commiserations to Ireland who finished last with just 5 points. They deserved much better than that, I'd say about 8th to 12th. Nonetheless Ireland can still be proud and thankful of having reached the final; 13 countries did worse than them by failing to qualify. The UK, Ireland and other countries who didn't win should remember that the important thing is not to win, but to participate.

Roll on the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest from Denmark. Can DR do as well or better? Time will tell. Mark my words, next year's Contest will tell another story as far as the results go. Who knows, the UK might win next year!

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