contest no. 56
Eurovision 2011: Düsseldorf
The 56th Eurovision Song Contest was held on Saturday, 14 May 2011 at Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany. 43 countries took part. Azerbaijan won with “Running Scared” by Ell and Nikki, on 221 points.
How would you have voted? Rank all 43 songs from 2011
- Final
- Saturday, 14 May 2011
- Semi-finals
- Tuesday, 10 May 2011 and Thursday, 12 May 2011
- Venue
- Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Host broadcaster
- ARD – Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR)
- Presenters
- Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers, Stefan Raab
- Director
- Ladislaus Kiraly
- For the EBU
- Jon Ola Sand
- Slogan
- Feel Your Heart Beat!
- Entries
- 43 countries
- Returning
- Austria, Hungary, Italy, San Marino
- Voting
- Each country awarded 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs
The story
Italy comes back, the champion defends, and Azerbaijan wins
Germany held its first contest as a single country in a football stadium in Düsseldorf. The arena was divided in two: a stage and audience on one side, dressing rooms for the delegations on the other. The 32,000 tickets for the final sold out in under six hours.
Three people presented, among them Stefan Raab, who had sung for Germany in 2000 and had appeared with other German entries as a conductor and a backing singer. The broadcast of the final later won the Rose d’Or for best live event.
Italy returns
The biggest news was on the entry list. Italy had walked away after 1997. Fourteen years later it came back.
It returned straight into the top tier. With Italy alongside France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the Big Four became the Big Five, all guaranteed a place in the final.
Austria, Hungary and San Marino also returned, bringing the total to 43, equal to the record.
The champion defends her title
Winners do not usually come back the following year. Lena did. Germany sent her again, with a different song, to defend the title on home ground.
She was not the only former winner in the field. Dana International, who had won for Israel in 1998, was back as well. It was only the second time two past winners had competed in the same year.
Neither repeated it. Dana International went out in the semi-final. Lena finished tenth.
The commentators go quiet
In the first semi-final a fault in the sound links cut several broadcasters off from their own commentators. Some of the commentators got back on air by telephoning their studios and talking down the line.
A back-up system was installed and tested before the second semi-final.
The result
The juries and the public disagreed, and the public’s choice won. Azerbaijan’s Ell and Nikki took the televote and the combined result with “Running Scared”, on 221 points. It was the country’s first victory, in only its fourth year at the contest.
Italy won the jury vote, and Raphael Gualazzi’s second place, 32 points back, made the return worthwhile. Sweden was third, four points behind Italy.
Of the Big Five, only Italy and Germany made the top ten. The United Kingdom was eleventh. Switzerland finished last.
A change at the top
It was the first contest under a new executive supervisor. Svante Stockselius, who had run the event for the EBU since 2004, stepped down at the end of 2010, and Jon Ola Sand took over.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Eurovision Song Contest 2011”, and the EBU records and German press reports it cites.
The shows, night by night
What opened each show, and what filled the interval while the votes came in.
-
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
First semi-final
19 songs, 10 went through to the final
- in the interval
-
- Cold Steel Drummers
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
-
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Second semi-final
19 songs, 10 went through to the final
- in the interval
-
- Flying Steps “Flying Bach”
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
-
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Final
25 songs
- opened by
-
- Stefan Raab and Lena last year’s winner “Satellite”, as rockabilly
- in the interval
-
- Jan Delay “Oh Jonny” and “Klar”
The final
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Semi-final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azerbaijan | Ell and Nikki winner! | “Running Scared” English · Sandra Bjurman, Iain James Farquharson, Stefan Örn | 221 | 19 | SF1 · 2nd 122 pts |
| 2 | Italy | Raphael Gualazzi | “Madness of Love” Italian, English · Raffaele Gualazzi | 189 | 12 | Straight to the final |
| 3 | Sweden | Eric Saade | “Popular” English · Fredrik Kempe | 185 | 7 | SF2 · 1st 155 pts |
| 4 | Ukraine | Mika Newton | “Angel” English · Ruslan Kvinta, Maryna Skomorohova | 159 | 23 | SF2 · 6th 81 pts |
| 5 | Denmark | A Friend in London | “New Tomorrow” English · Lise Cabble, Jakob Schack Glæsner | 134 | 3 | SF2 · 2nd 135 pts |
| 6 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Dino Merlin | “Love in Rewind” English · Dino Merlin | 125 | 2 | SF2 · 5th 109 pts |
| 7 | Greece | Loukas Yorkas Stereo Mike | “Watch My Dance” English, Greek · Giannis Christodoulopoulos, Eleana Vrachali | 120 | 9 | SF1 · 1st 133 pts |
| 8 | Ireland | Jedward | “Lipstick” English · Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson, Daniel Priddy | 119 | 6 | SF2 · 8th 68 pts |
| 9 | Georgia | Eldrine | “One More Day” English · Mikheil Chelidze, DJ BE$$, DJ Rock | 110 | 25 | SF1 · 6th 74 pts |
| 10 | Germany | Lena | “Taken by a Stranger” English · Monica Birkenes, Nicole Morier, Gus Seyffert | 107 | 16 | Straight to the final |
| 11 | United Kingdom | Blue | “I Can” English · Ciaron Bell, Ben Collier, Ian Hope, Duncan James, Liam Keenan, Lee Ryan, StarSign | 100 | 14 | Straight to the final |
| 12 | Moldova | Zdob și Zdub | “So Lucky” English · Marc Elsner, Mihai Gîncu, Roman Iagupov, Andy Schuman | 97 | 15 | SF2 · 10th 54 pts |
| 13 | Slovenia | Maja Keuc | “No One” English · Matjaž Vlašič, Urša Vlašič | 96 | 20 | SF2 · 3rd 112 pts |
| 14 | Serbia | Nina | “Čaroban (Чаробан)” Serbian · Kristina Kovač | 85 | 24 | SF1 · 8th 67 pts |
| 15 | France | Amaury Vassili | “Sognu” Corsican · Quentin Bachelet, Jean-Pierre Marcellesi, Julie Miller, Daniel Moyne | 82 | 11 | Straight to the final |
| 16 | Russia | Alexey Vorobyov | “Get You” English, Russian · AJ Junior, Bilal "The Chef", RedOne, Eric Sanicola, Alexey Vorobyov | 77 | 10 | SF1 · 9th 64 pts |
| 17 | Romania | Hotel FM | “Change” English · Gabriel Băruţa, Alexandra Ivan | 77 | 17 | SF2 · 4th 111 pts |
| 18 | Austria | Nadine Beiler | “The Secret is Love” English · Nadine Beiler, Thomas Rabitsch | 64 | 18 | SF2 · 7th 69 pts |
| 19 | Lithuania | Evelina Sašenko | “C'est ma vie” English, French, Lithuanian Sign Language · Andrius Kairys, Paulius Zdanavičius | 63 | 4 | SF1 · 5th 81 pts |
| 20 | Iceland | Sjonni's Friends | “Coming Home” English · Sjonni Brink, Þórunn Clausen | 61 | 21 | SF1 · 4th 100 pts |
| 21 | Finland | Paradise Oskar | “Da Da Dam” English · Axel Ehnström | 57 | 1 | SF1 · 3rd 103 pts |
| 22 | Hungary | Kati Wolf | “What About My Dreams?” English, Hungarian · Péter Geszti, Johnny K. Palmer, Gergő Rácz, Viktor Rakonczai | 53 | 5 | SF1 · 7th 72 pts |
| 23 | Spain | Lucía Pérez | “Que me quiten lo bailao” Spanish · Rafael Artesero | 50 | 22 | Straight to the final |
| 24 | Estonia | Getter Jaani | “Rockefeller Street” English · Sven Lõhmus | 44 | 8 | SF2 · 9th 60 pts |
| 25 | Switzerland | Anna Rossinelli | “In Love for a While” English · David Klein | 19 | 13 | SF1 · 10th 55 pts |
The semi-finals
Every song in each semi-final, in finishing order. 18 songs didn’t reach the final.
First semi-final Tuesday, 10 May 2011 · 19 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | Loukas Yorkas Stereo Mike | “Watch My Dance” English, Greek · Giannis Christodoulopoulos, Eleana Vrachali | 133 | 19 | Through: 7th in the final |
| 2 | Azerbaijan | Ell and Nikki | “Running Scared” English · Sandra Bjurman, Iain James Farquharson, Stefan Örn | 122 | 18 | Through: 1st in the final |
| 3 | Finland | Paradise Oskar | “Da Da Dam” English · Axel Ehnström | 103 | 10 | Through: 21st in the final |
| 4 | Iceland | Sjonni's Friends | “Coming Home” English · Sjonni Brink, Þórunn Clausen | 100 | 14 | Through: 20th in the final |
| 5 | Lithuania | Evelina Sašenko | “C'est ma vie” English, French, Lithuanian Sign Language · Andrius Kairys, Paulius Zdanavičius | 81 | 17 | Through: 19th in the final |
| 6 | Georgia | Eldrine | “One More Day” English · Mikheil Chelidze, DJ BE$$, DJ Rock | 74 | 9 | Through: 9th in the final |
| 7 | Hungary | Kati Wolf | “What About My Dreams?” English, Hungarian · Péter Geszti, Johnny K. Palmer, Gergő Rácz, Viktor Rakonczai | 72 | 15 | Through: 22nd in the final |
| 8 | Serbia | Nina | “Čaroban (Чаробан)” Serbian · Kristina Kovač | 67 | 6 | Through: 14th in the final |
| 9 | Russia | Alexey Vorobyov | “Get You” English, Russian · AJ Junior, Bilal "The Chef", RedOne, Eric Sanicola, Alexey Vorobyov | 64 | 7 | Through: 16th in the final |
| 10 | Switzerland | Anna Rossinelli | “In Love for a While” English · David Klein | 55 | 8 | Through: 25th in the final |
| 11 | Malta | Glen Vella | “One Life” English · Fleur Balzan, Paul Giordimaina | 54 | 11 | Out |
| 12 | Armenia | Emmy | “Boom Boom” English · Hayk Harutyunyan, Hayk Hovhannisyan, Sosi Khanikyan | 54 | 4 | Out |
| 13 | Turkey | Yüksek Sadakat | “Live It Up” English · Ergün Arsal, Kutlu Özmakinacı | 47 | 5 | Out |
| 14 | Albania | Aurela Gaçe | “Feel the Passion” English · Sokol Marsi, Shpëtim Saraçi | 47 | 3 | Out |
| 15 | Croatia | Daria | “Celebrate” English · Boris Đurđević, Marina Mudrinić | 41 | 13 | Out |
| 16 | San Marino | Senit | “Stand By” English · Radiosa Romani | 34 | 12 | Out |
| 17 | Norway | Stella Mwangi | “Haba Haba” English, Swahili · Beyond51, Big City, Stella Mwangi | 30 | 2 | Out |
| 18 | Portugal | Homens da Luta | “A luta é alegria” Portuguese · Vasco Duarte, Jel | 22 | 16 | Out |
| 19 | Poland | Magdalena Tul | “Jestem” Polish · Magdalena Tul | 18 | 1 | Out |
Second semi-final Thursday, 12 May 2011 · 19 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | Eric Saade | “Popular” English · Fredrik Kempe | 155 | 8 | Through: 3rd in the final |
| 2 | Denmark | A Friend in London | “New Tomorrow” English · Lise Cabble, Jakob Schack Glæsner | 135 | 18 | Through: 5th in the final |
| 3 | Slovenia | Maja Keuc | “No One” English · Matjaž Vlašič, Urša Vlašič | 112 | 13 | Through: 13th in the final |
| 4 | Romania | Hotel FM | “Change” English · Gabriel Băruţa, Alexandra Ivan | 111 | 14 | Through: 17th in the final |
| 5 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Dino Merlin | “Love in Rewind” English · Dino Merlin | 109 | 1 | Through: 6th in the final |
| 6 | Ukraine | Mika Newton | “Angel” English · Ruslan Kvinta, Maryna Skomorohova | 81 | 6 | Through: 4th in the final |
| 7 | Austria | Nadine Beiler | “The Secret is Love” English · Nadine Beiler, Thomas Rabitsch | 69 | 2 | Through: 18th in the final |
| 8 | Ireland | Jedward | “Lipstick” English · Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson, Daniel Priddy | 68 | 19 | Through: 8th in the final |
| 9 | Estonia | Getter Jaani | “Rockefeller Street” English · Sven Lõhmus | 60 | 15 | Through: 24th in the final |
| 10 | Moldova | Zdob și Zdub | “So Lucky” English · Marc Elsner, Mihai Gîncu, Roman Iagupov, Andy Schuman | 54 | 7 | Through: 12th in the final |
| 11 | Belgium | Witloof Bay | “With Love Baby” English · Benoît Giaux, RoxorLoops | 53 | 4 | Out |
| 12 | Bulgaria | Poli Genova | “Na inat (На инат)” Bulgarian · Sebastian Arman, David Bronner, Poli Genova, Borislav Milanov | 48 | 10 | Out |
| 13 | Slovakia | Twiins | “I'm Still Alive” English · Branislav Jančich, Sandra Nordstrom, Bryan Todd | 48 | 5 | Out |
| 14 | Belarus | Anastasia Vinnikova | “I Love Belarus” English · Svetlana Geraskova, Eugene Oleynik | 45 | 16 | Out |
| 15 | Israel | Dana International | “Ding Dong” Hebrew, English · Dana International | 38 | 12 | Out |
| 16 | Macedonia | Vlatko Ilievski | “Rusinka (Русинкa)” Macedonian, English · Vladimir Dojčinovski, Jovan Jovanov, Grigor Koprov, Marko Marinković "Slatkaristika" | 36 | 11 | Out |
| 17 | Latvia | Musiqq | “Angel in Disguise” English · Marats Ogļezņevs | 25 | 17 | Out |
| 18 | Cyprus | Christos Mylordos | “San aggelos s'agapisa (Σαν άγγελος σ'αγάπησα)” Greek · Andreas Anastasiou, Michalis Antoniou | 16 | 9 | Out |
| 19 | Netherlands | 3JS | “Never Alone” English · Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman, Jaap de Witte | 13 | 3 | Out |
Who showed it, and who talked over it
The channels that carried the contest in 41 countries, with the commentator where our source names one.
-
Albania
- TVSH Leon Menkshi
-
Armenia
- Armenia 1 Artak Vardanyan
-
Austria
- ORF eins Andi Knoll
- Hitradio Ö3 Martin Blumenau
- Hitradio Ö3 (final) Benny Hörtnagl
-
Azerbaijan
- İTV Leyla Aliyeva
-
Belarus
- Belarus-1 Denis Kurian
-
Belgium
- La Une Jean-Pierre Hautier and Jean-Louis Lahaye
- Eén Sven Pichal and André Vermeulen
- Radio 2 Sven Pichal and André Vermeulen
-
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- BHT 1 Dejan Kukrić
-
Cyprus
- RIK 1 Melina Karageorgiou
-
Denmark
- DR1, DR HD Ole Tøpholm
-
Estonia
- ETV Marko Reikop
- Raadio 2 Marko Reikop
-
Finland
- YLE TV2, YLE HD Finnish: Tarja Närhi and Asko Murtomäki, Swedish: Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
- YLE Radio Suomi Sanna Kojo and Jorma Hietamäki
- YLE Radio Vega Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
-
France
- France Ô (semi-final 2) Audrey Chauveau and Bruno Berberes
- France 3 (final) Laurent Boyer and Catherine Lara
- France Bleu (final) Fabien Lecœuvre and Serge Poezevara
-
Germany
- Einsfestival (semi-final 1) Peter Urban and Steven Gätjen
- Das Erste (semi-final 2 and final) Peter Urban
- NDR 2, WDR 1LIVE, hr3 (final) Thomas Mohr, Steffi Neu and Tim Frühling
- ProSieben (semi-final 1) Peter Urban and Steven Gätjen
-
Greece
- NET, ERT HD Maria Kozakou
- Deftero Programma Maria Kozakou
-
Hungary
- m1 Gábor Gundel Takács
-
Iceland
- Sjónvarpið Hrafnhildur Halldorsdóttir
-
Ireland
- RTÉ Two (semi-finals) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ One (final) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ Radio 1 (semi-final 2 and final) Shay Byrne and Zbyszek Zalinski
-
Italy
- Rai 5, Rai Radio 2 (semi-final 2) Raffaella Carrà and Bob Sinclar
- Rai 2 (final) Raffaella Carrà and Bob Sinclar
-
Latvia
- LTV Valters Frīdenbergs and Uģis Joksts
-
Lithuania
- LRT Darius Užkuraitis
-
Macedonia
- MTV 1 Eli Tanaskovska
-
Malta
- TVM Eileen Montesin
-
Netherlands
- Nederland 1 Jan Smit and Daniël Dekker
-
Norway
- NRK1 Olav Viksmo-Slettan
-
Poland
- TVP1 Artur Orzech
-
Portugal
- RTP1, RTP HD, RTP Internacional Sílvia Alberto
-
Romania
- TVR 1, TVR HD, TVR Internaţional Liana Stanciu and Bogdan Pavlică
-
Russia
- Channel One Yana Churikova and Yuriy Aksyuta
- Channel One (final) Kirill Nabutov
-
Serbia
- RTS1, RTS Sat (semi-final 1) Marina Nikolić
- RTS1, RTS Sat (semi-final 2) Dragan Ilić
- RTS1, RTS Sat (final) Duška Vučinić-Lučić
- Radio Belgrade Tanja Zeljković
-
Slovakia
- Jednotka, Rádio FM Roman Bomboš
-
Slovenia
- TV SLO 2 (semi-finals) Andrej Hofer
- TV SLO 1 (final) Andrej Hofer
-
Spain
- La 2 (semi-finals) José María Íñigo
- La 1, TVE HD, TVE Internacional (final) José María Íñigo
-
Sweden
- SVT1 Hélène Benno and Edward af Sillén
-
Switzerland
- SF zwei (semi-final 1 and final) Sven Epiney
- TSR 2 (semi-final 1) Jean-Marc Richard and Henri Dès
- TSR 2 (final) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner
-
Turkey
- TRT 1 Bülend Özveren and Erhan Konuk
-
Ukraine
- Pershyi Natsionalnyi Timur Miroshnychenko and Tetyana Terekhova
- UR Olena Zelinchenko
-
United Kingdom
- BBC Three, BBC HD (semi-finals) Scott Mills and Sara Cox
- BBC One, BBC One HD (final) Graham Norton
- BBC Radio 2 (final) Ken Bruce
Also shown in
-
Australia
- SBS One, SBS HD Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang
-
Faroe Islands
- KvF Ole Tøpholm
-
Greenland
- KNR (final)
-
New Zealand
- Triangle Stratos
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.