contest no. 61
Eurovision 2016: Stockholm
The 61st Eurovision Song Contest was held on Saturday, 14 May 2016 at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. 42 countries took part. Ukraine won with “1944” by Jamala, on 534 points.
How would you have voted? Rank all 42 songs from 2016
- Final
- Saturday, 14 May 2016
- Semi-finals
- Tuesday, 10 May 2016 and Thursday, 12 May 2016
- Venue
- Ericsson Globe, Stockholm, Sweden
- Host broadcaster
- Sveriges Television (SVT)
- Presenters
- Petra Mede, Måns Zelmerlöw
- Directors
- Daniel Jelinek, Robin Hofwander, Sven Stojanović
- For the EBU
- Jon Ola Sand
- Slogan
- Come Together
- Entries
- 42 countries
- Returning
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine
- Absent
- Portugal
- Voting
- Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.
The story
A new way of counting, and a winner who topped neither vote
The scoring had worked the same way since 1975. In 2016 it changed, and the first time it was used it produced a result that the old system could not have shown anyone.
Two sets of points
Until now each country had blended its jury’s verdict and its public’s into a single set of points. From Stockholm, each country gave two: one set of 12, 10 and 8 down to 1 from its jury, and another from its viewers.
The jury points were read out country by country, as before. Then the public’s points, pooled from the whole continent, were announced in one go, from the song viewers liked least to the one they liked most.
The point was suspense: the winner would not be known until the very end.
Romania is expelled
Forty-three countries were due in Stockholm. Three weeks before the contest there were 42.
Romanian television owed the EBU sixteen million Swiss francs, a debt going back to 2007. The EBU gave the Romanian government a deadline of 20 April. It passed. The broadcaster was expelled from the EBU and its entry disqualified.
The song stayed on the official album, which had already been pressed.
Germany changes its mind
Germany announced its singer in November 2015: Xavier Naidoo. There was an immediate outcry over political views he had expressed. Two days later the broadcaster withdrew the nomination.
Flags
Less than two weeks before the shows the EBU published a list of flags that would not be allowed in the arena. It named the Basque flag alongside those of unrecognised states, among others, and Spain’s foreign minister and the Basque president both protested.
The EBU apologised the same day, called the list insensitive, and a week later relaxed the policy to allow the regional flags of participants.
Two incidents followed anyway. At one of the shows security staff confiscated a Basque flag from a Spanish spectator and asked him to leave; he was let back in, with his flag, after the Spanish consul intervened. And in the first semi-final Armenia’s singer was filmed in the green room holding the flag of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was on the banned list. The EBU condemned it and sanctioned Armenia’s broadcaster.
Jurors behaving badly
A Russian juror live-streamed her jury’s deliberations on social media during a dress rehearsal. She was removed and her votes cancelled.
A Danish juror made a simpler mistake, in the second semi-final and the final. She filled in her ranking upside down, putting her favourite last and her least favourite first. Corrected, it would have cut Ukraine’s winning margin from 23 points to nine.
The result
Australia, invited back after its guest appearance, won the jury vote. Russia won the public vote.
Neither won the contest. Ukraine’s Jamala was second with the juries and second with the public, and that was enough: 534 points, to 511 for Australia’s Dami Im and 491 for Russia’s Sergey Lazarev.
Her song, “1944”, is about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in that year, and about her own great-grandmother, who lost a daughter on the journey. Part of it is in Crimean Tatar.
Two years after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Russian media and politicians read it as an attack. The day after the final a petition was started asking the EBU to annul the result.
Also that night
The Czech Republic reached the final for the first time. Germany came last.
It was the first contest shown live on television in the United States, and 204 million people watched worldwide, a record.
Sources: Wikipedia, “Eurovision Song Contest 2016”, and the EBU statements and press reports it cites.
The shows, night by night
What opened each show, and what filled the interval while the votes came in.
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Tuesday, 10 May 2016
First semi-final
18 songs, 10 went through to the final
- opened by
-
- Måns Zelmerlöw last year’s winner “Heroes”, with a children’s choir
- in the interval
-
- “The Grey People” a dance sketch choreographed by Fredrik Rydman
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
-
Thursday, 12 May 2016
Second semi-final
18 songs, 10 went through to the final
- opened by
-
- Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw the hosts’ musical comedy number “That’s Eurovision”
- in the interval
-
- “Man vs Machine” a dance sketch choreographed by Fredrik Rydman
Every song and who went through ↓ Every vote, country by country →
-
Saturday, 14 May 2016
Final
26 songs
- opened by
-
- The flag parade staged as a fashion show
- in the interval
-
- Justin Timberlake “Rock Your Body” and the first live performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
- Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw “Love Love Peace Peace”
- Måns Zelmerlöw “Fire in the Rain” and “Heroes”
The final
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Semi-final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukraine | Jamala winner! | “1944” English, Crimean Tatar · Jamala | 534 | 21 | SF2 · 2nd 287 pts |
| 2 | Australia | Dami Im | “Sound of Silence” English · Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci | 511 | 13 | SF2 · 1st 330 pts |
| 3 | Russia | Sergey Lazarev | “You Are the Only One” English · John Ballard, Ralph Charlie, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Philipp Kirkorov | 491 | 18 | SF1 · 1st 342 pts |
| 4 | Bulgaria | Poli Genova | “If Love Was a Crime” English · Sebastian Arman, Poli Genova, Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson | 307 | 8 | SF2 · 5th 220 pts |
| 5 | Sweden | Frans | “If I Were Sorry” English · Fredrik Andersson, Oscar Fogelström, Frans Jeppsson Wall, Michael Saxell | 261 | 9 | Straight to the final |
| 6 | France | Amir | “J'ai cherché” French, English · Johan Errami, Amir Haddad, Nazim Khaled | 257 | 11 | Straight to the final |
| 7 | Armenia | Iveta Mukuchyan | “LoveWave” English · Stephanie Crutchfield, Iveta Mukuchyan, Levon Navasardyan, Lilith Navasardyan | 249 | 26 | SF1 · 2nd 243 pts |
| 8 | Poland | Michał Szpak | “Color of Your Life” English · Andy Palmer, Kamil Varen | 229 | 12 | SF2 · 6th 151 pts |
| 9 | Lithuania | Donny Montell | “I've Been Waiting for This Night” English · Beatrice Robertsson, Jonas Thander | 200 | 16 | SF2 · 4th 222 pts |
| 10 | Belgium | Laura Tesoro | “What's the Pressure” English · Louis Favre, Sanne Putseys, Birsen Uçar, Yannick Werther | 181 | 1 | SF2 · 3rd 274 pts |
| 11 | Netherlands | Douwe Bob | “Slow Down” English · Matthijs van Duijvenbode, Jan-Peter Hoekstra, Jeroen Overman, Douwe Bob Posthuma | 153 | 3 | SF1 · 5th 197 pts |
| 12 | Malta | Ira Losco | “Walk on Water” English · Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Ira Losco, Tobias Lundgren, Molly Pettersson Hammar | 153 | 22 | SF1 · 3rd 209 pts |
| 13 | Austria | Zoë | “Loin d'ici” French · Christof Straub, Zoë Straub | 151 | 24 | SF1 · 7th 170 pts |
| 14 | Israel | Hovi Star | “Made of Stars” English · Doron Medalie | 135 | 7 | SF2 · 7th 147 pts |
| 15 | Latvia | Justs | “Heartbeat” English · Aminata Savadogo | 132 | 20 | SF2 · 8th 132 pts |
| 16 | Italy | Francesca Michielin | “No Degree of Separation” Italian, English · Federica Abbate, Cheope, Fabio Gargiulo, Norma Jean Martine, Francesca Michielin | 124 | 6 | Straight to the final |
| 17 | Azerbaijan | Samra | “Miracle” English · Amir Aly, Jakke "T.I Jakke" Erixson, Henrik Wikström | 117 | 4 | SF1 · 6th 185 pts |
| 18 | Serbia | Sanja Vučić Zaa | “Goodbye (Shelter)” English · Ivana Peters | 115 | 15 | SF2 · 10th 105 pts |
| 19 | Hungary | Freddie | “Pioneer” English · Borbála Csarnai, Zé Szabó | 108 | 5 | SF1 · 4th 197 pts |
| 20 | Georgia | Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz | “Midnight Gold” English · Thomas G:son, Kote Kalandadze | 104 | 23 | SF2 · 9th 123 pts |
| 21 | Cyprus | Minus One | “Alter Ego” English · Thomas G:son, Minus One | 96 | 14 | SF1 · 8th 164 pts |
| 22 | Spain | Barei | “Say Yay!” English · Barei, Víctor Púa, Rubén Villanueva | 77 | 19 | Straight to the final |
| 23 | Croatia | Nina Kraljić | “Lighthouse” English · Andreas Grass, Nikola Paryla | 73 | 17 | SF1 · 10th 133 pts |
| 24 | United Kingdom | Joe and Jake | “You're Not Alone” English · Justin J. Benson, S. Kanes, Matt Schwartz | 62 | 25 | Straight to the final |
| 25 | Czech Republic | Gabriela Gunčíková | “I Stand” English · Sara Biglert, Aidan O'Connor, Christian Schneider | 41 | 2 | SF1 · 9th 161 pts |
| 26 | Germany | Jamie-Lee | “Ghost” English · Thomas Burchia, Conrad Hensel, Anna Leyne | 11 | 10 | Straight to the final |
The semi-finals
Every song in each semi-final, in finishing order. 16 songs didn’t reach the final.
First semi-final Tuesday, 10 May 2016 · 18 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russia | Sergey Lazarev | “You Are the Only One” English · John Ballard, Ralph Charlie, Dimitris Kontopoulos, Philipp Kirkorov | 342 | 9 | Through: 3rd in the final |
| 2 | Armenia | Iveta Mukuchyan | “LoveWave” English · Stephanie Crutchfield, Iveta Mukuchyan, Levon Navasardyan, Lilith Navasardyan | 243 | 7 | Through: 7th in the final |
| 3 | Malta | Ira Losco | “Walk on Water” English · Lisa Desmond, Tim Larsson, Ira Losco, Tobias Lundgren, Molly Pettersson Hammar | 209 | 18 | Through: 12th in the final |
| 4 | Hungary | Freddie | “Pioneer” English · Borbála Csarnai, Zé Szabó | 197 | 4 | Through: 19th in the final |
| 5 | Netherlands | Douwe Bob | “Slow Down” English · Matthijs van Duijvenbode, Jan-Peter Hoekstra, Jeroen Overman, Douwe Bob Posthuma | 197 | 6 | Through: 11th in the final |
| 6 | Azerbaijan | Samra | “Miracle” English · Amir Aly, Jakke "T.I Jakke" Erixson, Henrik Wikström | 185 | 14 | Through: 17th in the final |
| 7 | Austria | Zoë | “Loin d'ici” French · Christof Straub, Zoë Straub | 170 | 12 | Through: 13th in the final |
| 8 | Cyprus | Minus One | “Alter Ego” English · Thomas G:son, Minus One | 164 | 11 | Through: 21st in the final |
| 9 | Czech Republic | Gabriela Gunčíková | “I Stand” English · Sara Biglert, Aidan O'Connor, Christian Schneider | 161 | 10 | Through: 25th in the final |
| 10 | Croatia | Nina Kraljić | “Lighthouse” English · Andreas Grass, Nikola Paryla | 133 | 5 | Through: 23rd in the final |
| 11 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Dalal and Deen Ana Rucner and Jala | “Ljubav je” Bosnian · Almir Ajanović, Jasmin Fazlić "Jala" | 104 | 17 | Out |
| 12 | San Marino | Serhat | “I Didn't Know” English · Olcayto Ahmet Tuğsuz, Nektarios Tyrakis | 68 | 8 | Out |
| 13 | Montenegro | Highway | “The Real Thing” English · Maro Market, Srđan Sekulović "Skansi", Luka Vojvodić | 60 | 15 | Out |
| 14 | Iceland | Greta Salóme | “Hear Them Calling” English · Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir | 51 | 16 | Out |
| 15 | Finland | Sandhja | “Sing It Away” English · Heikki Korhonen, Sandhja Kuivalainen, Petri Matara, Milos Rosas, Markus Savijoki | 51 | 1 | Out |
| 16 | Greece | Argo | “Utopian Land” English, Greek · Vladimiros Sofianides | 44 | 2 | Out |
| 17 | Moldova | Lidia Isac | “Falling Stars” English · Gabriel Alares, Ellen Berg, Leonid Gutkin, Sebastian Lestapier | 33 | 3 | Out |
| 18 | Estonia | Jüri Pootsmann | “Play” English · Vallo Kikas, Fred Krieger, Stig Rästa | 24 | 13 | Out |
Second semi-final Thursday, 12 May 2016 · 18 songs, 10 went through
| Place | Country | Artist | Song | Points | Sang | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | Dami Im | “Sound of Silence” English · Anthony Egizii, David Musumeci | 330 | 10 | Through: 2nd in the final |
| 2 | Ukraine | Jamala | “1944” English, Crimean Tatar · Jamala | 287 | 14 | Through: 1st in the final |
| 3 | Belgium | Laura Tesoro | “What's the Pressure” English · Louis Favre, Sanne Putseys, Birsen Uçar, Yannick Werther | 274 | 18 | Through: 10th in the final |
| 4 | Lithuania | Donny Montell | “I've Been Waiting for This Night” English · Beatrice Robertsson, Jonas Thander | 222 | 9 | Through: 9th in the final |
| 5 | Bulgaria | Poli Genova | “If Love Was a Crime” English · Sebastian Arman, Poli Genova, Borislav Milanov, Joacim Persson | 220 | 12 | Through: 4th in the final |
| 6 | Poland | Michał Szpak | “Color of Your Life” English · Andy Palmer, Kamil Varen | 151 | 2 | Through: 8th in the final |
| 7 | Israel | Hovi Star | “Made of Stars” English · Doron Medalie | 147 | 4 | Through: 14th in the final |
| 8 | Latvia | Justs | “Heartbeat” English · Aminata Savadogo | 132 | 1 | Through: 15th in the final |
| 9 | Georgia | Nika Kocharov and Young Georgian Lolitaz | “Midnight Gold” English · Thomas G:son, Kote Kalandadze | 123 | 16 | Through: 20th in the final |
| 10 | Serbia | Sanja Vučić Zaa | “Goodbye (Shelter)” English · Ivana Peters | 105 | 6 | Through: 18th in the final |
| 11 | Macedonia | Kaliopi | “Dona (Дона)” Macedonian · Romeo Grill, Kaliopi | 88 | 8 | Out |
| 12 | Belarus | Ivan | “Help You Fly” English · Mary Susan Applegate, Victor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev | 84 | 5 | Out |
| 13 | Norway | Agnete | “Icebreaker” English · Gabriel Alares, Ian Curnow, Agnete K. Johnsen | 63 | 15 | Out |
| 14 | Slovenia | ManuElla | “Blue and Red” English · Manuella Brečko, Marjan Hvala, Leon Oblak | 57 | 11 | Out |
| 15 | Ireland | Nicky Byrne | “Sunlight” English · Nicky Byrne, Ronan Hardiman, Wayne Hector | 46 | 7 | Out |
| 16 | Albania | Eneda Tarifa | “Fairytale” English · Olsa Toqi | 45 | 17 | Out |
| 17 | Denmark | Lighthouse X | “Soldiers of Love” English · Søren Bregendal, Daniel Durn, Katrine Klith Andersen, Johannes Nymark, Sebastian Owens, Martin Skriver | 34 | 13 | Out |
| 18 | Switzerland | Rykka | “The Last of Our Kind” English · Jeff Dawson, Mike James, Warne Livesey, Christina Maria Rieder | 28 | 3 | Out |
Who showed it, and who talked over it
The channels that carried the contest in 49 countries, with the commentator where our source names one.
-
Albania
- TVSH, RTSH HD Andri Xhahu
- RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana Andri Xhahu
-
Armenia
- Armenia 1, Public Radio of Armenia Avet Barseghyan
-
Australia
- SBS, SBS Radio 4 Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang
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Austria
- ORF eins Andi Knoll
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Azerbaijan
- İTV Azer Suleymanli
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Belarus
- Belarus-1, Belarus 24 Evgeny Perlin
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Belgium
- één Peter Van de Veire
- La Une Jean-Louis Lahaye and Maureen Louys
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
- BHT 1, BHT HD, BH Radio 1 Dejan Kukrić
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Bulgaria
- BNT 1, BNT HD Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev
-
Croatia
- HRT 1 Duško Ćurlić
- HR 2 Zlatko Turkalj
-
Cyprus
- RIK 1, RIK Sat, RIK HD, RIK Triton Melina Karageorgiou
-
Czech Republic
- ČT2 (semi-finals) Libor Bouček
- ČT1 (final) Libor Bouček
-
Denmark
- DR1 Ole Tøpholm
-
Estonia
- ETV Marko Reikop
- ETV+ Aleksandr Hobotov
- Raadio 2 (semi-final 1 and final) Mart Juur and Andrus Kivirähk
-
Finland
- Yle TV2, TV Finland Finnish: Mikko Silvennoinen, Swedish: Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
- Yle Radio Vega Eva Frantz and Johan Lindroos
-
France
- France 4 (semi-finals) Marianne James and Jarry
- France 2 (final) Marianne James and Stéphane Bern
-
Georgia
- 1TV Tuta Chkheidze and Nika Katsia
-
Germany
- Einsfestival, Phoenix (semi-finals) Peter Urban
- Das Erste (final) Peter Urban
-
Greece
- ERT1, ERT HD, ERT World Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis
- Deftero Programma, Voice of Greece Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis
-
Hungary
- Duna Gábor Gundel Takács
-
Iceland
- RÚV, Rás 2 Gísli Marteinn Baldursson
-
Ireland
- RTÉ2 (semi-finals) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ One (final) Marty Whelan
- RTÉ Radio 1 (semi-final 2 and final) Neil Doherty and Zbyszek Zalinski
-
Israel
- Channel 1 Hebrew subtitles
- Channel 33 (semi-final 2 and final) Arabic subtitles
- IBA 88FM (semi-final 2 and final) Kobi Menora, Or Vaxman and Nancy Brandes
-
Italy
- Rai 4 (semi-finals) Marco Ardemagni and Filippo Solibello
- Rai 1 (final) Flavio Insinna and Federico Russo
- Rai Radio 2 Marco Ardemagni and Filippo Solibello
-
Latvia
- LTV1 Valters Frīdenbergs
- LTV1 (final) Toms Grēviņš
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Lithuania
- LRT, LRT HD, LRT Radijas Darius Užkuraitis
-
Macedonia
- MRT 1 Karolina Petkovska
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Malta
- TVM Arthur Caruana
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Moldova
- Moldova 1 Gloria Gorceag
- Radio Moldova, Radio Moldova Muzical, Radio Moldova Tineret Gloria Gorceag
-
Montenegro
- TVCG 1, TVCG Sat Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković
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Netherlands
- NPO 1, BVN (semi-final 1 and final) Cornald Maas and Jan Smit
- NPO 1, BVN (semi-final 2) Cornald Maas, Jan Smit and Douwe Bob
-
Norway
- NRK1 Olav Viksmo-Slettan
- NRK3 (final) Ronny Brede Aase, Silje Nordnes and Markus Neby
- NRK P1 (semi-final 2 and final) Ole Christian Øen
-
Poland
- TVP1, TVP Polonia, TVP Rozrywka, TVP HD Artur Orzech
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Russia
- Russia-1, Russia HD Dmitry Guberniev and Ernest Mackevičius
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San Marino
- San Marino RTV, Radio San Marino Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo
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Serbia
- RTS1, RTS HD, RTS SAT (semi-final 1) Dragan Ilić
- RTS1, RTS HD, RTS SAT (semi-final 2 and final) Duška Vučinić
-
Slovenia
- TV SLO 2 (semi-finals) Andrej Hofer
- TV SLO 1 (final) Andrej Hofer
- Radio Val 202 (semi-final 2 and final) Andrej Hofer
- Radio Maribor Andrej Hofer
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Spain
- La 2 (semi-finals) José María Íñigo and Julia Varela
- La 1 (final) José María Íñigo and Julia Varela
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Sweden
- SVT1 Lotta Bromé
- SR P4 Carolina Norén and Björn Kjellman
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Switzerland
- SRF zwei (semi-finals) Sven Epiney
- SRF 1 (final) Sven Epiney
- SRF 1, Radio SRF 3 (final) Peter Schneider and Gabriel Vetter
- RTS Deux (semi-final 2 and final) Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner
- RSI La 2 (semi-final 2) Clarissa Tami
- RSI La 1 (final) Clarissa Tami and Michele "Cerno" Carobbio
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Ukraine
- UA:Pershyi Timur Miroshnychenko and Tetyana Terekhova
- UR Olena Zelinchenko
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United Kingdom
- BBC Four (semi-finals) Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc
- BBC One (final) Graham Norton
- BBC Radio 2 (final) Ken Bruce
Also shown in
Results as published by the European Broadcasting Union. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll fix it.