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The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th annual contest of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was hosted in the Baku Crystal Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan after Ell and Nikki won for Azerbaijan in 2011 with Running Scared. The two semi-finals were hosted on the 22 and 24 May 2012 and the final on 26 May 2012.

The contest was won by Loreen from Sweden with the song Euphoria which was written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. Euphoria earned a total of 372 points, placing it in the top spot. Russia finished in second place, with Serbia finishing in third. They were followed by the host country, Azerbaijan, which reached the 4th place. Albania achieved its first top 5 placing and finished 5th, which was their best result to date. Germany, Italy and Spain were the three members of the Big Five that managed to rank within the top 10, finishing in 8th, 9th and 10th places respectively.

Format[]

Presenters[]

Hosts

LTR: Leyla Aliyeva, Eldar Gasimov and Nargiz Birk-Petersen

Television presenter Leyla Aliyeva, 2011 winner Eldar Gasimov and Nargiz Birk-Petersen (also a television presenter) hosted the three shows.[1]

Theme[]

The theme for the 2012 Contest was "Light Your Fire!"[2]This matches Azerbaijan's nickname - "Land of Fire."

Postcard

An example of the postcards

The Pre-Song Postcards reflected many aspects of Azerbaijan and Baku and acted as a tourism mechanism to present the country and the city to the world. Some postcards focused on Azerbaijan, while others focused on Baku with a shot of a famous landmark or landscape. The postcards then cut to a shot of the Crystal Hall lit up in the colours of the performing country.

Location[]

Baku Crystal Hall

Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal parts: the downtown and the old Inner City. Baku's urban population at the beginning of 2009 was estimated at just over two million people.

Participants[]

The semi-final allocation draw was held on 25 January 2012 at the Buta Palace. The insignia handover ceremony took place before the draw began, officially beginning the countdown to the contest.

The pots were as follows, calculated by the EBU's voting providers Digame and based on historical voting patterns[3]:

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6 Finalists
Flag of Albania Albania
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Flag of Croatia Croatia
Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro
Flag of Serbia Serbia
Flag of Denmark Denmark
Flag of Estonia Estonia
Flag of Finland Finland
Flag of Iceland Iceland
Flag of Norway Norway
Flag of Sweden Sweden
Flag of Belarus Belarus
Flag of Georgia Georgia
Flag of Israel Israel
Flag of Moldova Moldova
Flag of Russia Russia
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine
Flag of Armenia Armenia
Flag of Belgium Belgium
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus
Flag of Greece Greece
Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands
Flag of Turkey Türkiye
Flag of Ireland Ireland
Flag of Latvia Latvia
Flag of Lithuania Lithuania
Flag of Malta Malta
Flag of Portugal Portugal
Flag of Romania Romania
Flag of Austria Austria
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
Flag of Hungary Hungary
Flag of San Marino San Marino
IconSlovakia Slovakia
Flag of Slovenia Slovenia
Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (Host)
Flag of France France
Flag of Germany Germany
Flag of Italy Italy
Flag of Spain Spain
Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom

Returning Artists[]

Artist(s) Previous Year(s)
Jónsi 2004
Jedward 2011
Kaliopi 1996 Pre-qualifier round
Željko Joksimović 2004

Languages[]

  • IconRussia Party for Everybody was mainly sung in Udmurt, a first for the contest.
  • IconAzerbaijan Love Unlimited featured lyrics in Azerbaijani, another first for the contest.
  • IconGeorgia I'm a Joker featured lyrics in Georgian, yet another first for the contest.
  • IconFinland När jag blundar was the first Eurovision entry to be performed in Swedish since 1998.
  • IconAustria Woki mit deim Popo was the first Austrian entry to be performed in German since 2004.

Gallery[]

Semi-Final One[]

Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, Flag of Italy Italy and Flag of Spain Spain voted in this semi-final. The EBU allowed RTSH, the Albanian broadcaster to not broadcast this semi final due to a bus accident. This meant Albania used a full jury vote instead of the televote.

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Rambo Amadeus Euro Neuro English -- 15 20
02 Flag of Iceland Iceland Greta Salóme & Jónsi Never Forget 8 75
03 Flag of Greece Greece Eleftheria Eleftheriou Aphrodisiac 4 116
04 Flag of Latvia Latvia Anmary Beautiful Song 16 17
05 Flag of Albania Albania Rona Nishliu Suus Albanian Personal 2 146
06 Flag of Romania Romania Mandinga Zaleilah Spanish, English -- 3 120
07 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Sinplus Unbreakable English 11 45
08 Flag of Belgium Belgium Iris Would You? 17 16
09 Flag of Finland Finland Pernilla När jag blundar Swedish When I close my eyes 12 41
10 Flag of Israel Israel Izabo Time English, Hebrew -- 13 33
11 Flag of San Marino San Marino Valentina Monetta The Social Network Song English 14 31
12 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Ivi Adamou La La Love 7 91
13 Flag of Denmark Denmark Soluna Samay Should've Known Better 9 63
14 Flag of Russia Russia Buranovskiye Babushki Party for Everybody Udmurt, English 1 152
15 Flag of Hungary Hungary Compact Disco Sound of Our Hearts English 10 52
16 Flag of Austria Austria Trackshittaz Woki mit deim Popo Mühlviertlerisch Shake your bottom 18 8
17 Flag of Moldova Moldova Pasha Parfeny Lăutar English Fiddler 5 100
18 Flag of Ireland Ireland Jedward Waterline -- 6 92

Semi-Final Two[]

Flag of France France, the Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom and Flag of Germany Germany voted in this semi-final. Germany requested that the country vote in this semi final. Armenia was supposed to participate in this semi, but then withdrew for security reasons.

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Serbia Serbia Željko Joksimović Nije ljubav stvar Serbian Love is not a thing 2 159
02 Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia Kaliopi Crno i belo Macedonian Black and white 9 53
03 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Joan Franka You and Me English -- 15 35
04 Flag of Malta Malta Kurt Calleja This Is The Night 7 70
05 Flag of Belarus Belarus Litesound We Are the Heroes 16 35
06 Flag of Portugal Portugal Filipa Sousa Vida minha Portuguese My life 13 39
07 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Gaitana Be My Guest English -- 8 64
08 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Sofi Marinova Love Unlimited Bulgarian 11 45
09 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Eva Boto Verjamem Slovene I believe 17 31
10 Flag of Croatia Croatia Nina Badrić Nebo Croatian Someone 12 42
11 Flag of Sweden Sweden Loreen Euphoria English -- 1 181
12 Flag of Georgia Georgia Anri Jokhadze I'm a Joker English, Georgian 14 36
13 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Can Bonomo Love Me Back English 5 80
14 Flag of Estonia Estonia Ott Lepland Kuula Estonian Listen 4 100
15 IconSlovakia Slovakia Max Jason Mai Don't Close Your Eyes English -- 18 22
16 Flag of Norway Norway Tooji Stay 10 45
17 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Maya Sar Korake ti znam Bosnian I know your steps 6 77
18 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania Donny Montell Love Is Blind English -- 3 104

Final[]

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Engelbert Humperdinck Love Will Set You Free English -- 25 12
02 Flag of Hungary Hungary Compact Disco Sound of Our Hearts 24 19
03 Flag of Albania Albania Rona Nishliu Suus Albanian Personal 5 146
04 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania Donny Montell Love Is Blind English -- 14 70
05 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Maya Sar Korake ti znam Bosnian I know your steps 18 55
06 Flag of Russia Russia Buranovskiye Babushki Party for Everybody English, Udmurt -- 2 259
07 Flag of Iceland Iceland Greta Salóme & Jónsi Never Forget English 20 46
08 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Ivi Adamou La La Love 16 65
09 Flag of France France Anggun Echo (You and I) French, English 22 21
10 Flag of Italy Italy Nina Zilli L'amore è femmina Italian, English Love is feminine (Out of Love) 9 101
11 Flag of Estonia Estonia Ott Lepland Kuula Estonian Listen 6 120
12 Flag of Norway Norway Tooji Stay English -- 26 7
13 Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Sabina Babayeva When The Music Dies 4 150
14 Flag of Romania Romania Mandinga Zaleilah Spanish, English 12 71
15 Flag of Denmark Denmark Soluna Samay Should've Known Better English 23 21
16 Flag of Greece Greece Eleftheria Eleftheriou Aphrodisiac 17 64
17 Flag of Sweden Sweden Loreen Euphoria 1 372
18 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Can Bonomo Love Me Back 7 112
19 Flag of Spain Spain Pastora Soler Quédate conmigo Spanish Stay with me 10 97
20 Flag of Germany Germany Roman Lob Standing Still English -- 8 110
21 Flag of Malta Malta Kurt Calleja This Is The Night 21 41
22 Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia Kaliopi Crno i belo Macedonian Black and white 13 71
23 Flag of Ireland Ireland Jedward Waterline English -- 19 46
24 Flag of Serbia Serbia Željko Joksimović Nije ljubav stvar Serbian Love is not a thing 3 214
25 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Gaitana Be My Guest English -- 15 65
26 Flag of Moldova Moldova Pasha Parfeny Lăutar Fiddler 11 81


Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award

Withdrawing[]

  • Flag of Andorra Andorra cited financial reasons for their withdrawal on 19 October 2011.[4]
  • Flag of Armenia Armenia withdrew for security reasons on 7 March 2012 after President Aliyev of Azerbaijan gave a speech saying "Our main enemies are Armenians of the world and the hypocritical and corrupt politicians under their control."[5]. AMPTV was fined by the EBU for their withdrawal [6]
  • The Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic withdrew on 24 November 2011 due to scheduling conflicts. [7]
  • Flag of Monaco Monaco seemed to be considering a return to the Contest, but Phil Bosco (a former Head of Delegation) confirmed there was a lack of funds. [8]
  • Flag of Poland Poland withdrew to concentrate on hosting the UEFA European Football Championship with Ukraine. [9]

Trivia[]

  • This year marks the first time since 2003 where Greece doesn't make the top ten. Coincidentally, both songs attained the same place (17th).
  • This was the first year that Georgia didn't qualify for the grand final.
  • This year marked North Macedonia's first qualification since 2007, but also their last until 2019.
  • This was the first year where the winner debuted the highest on the ESC Top 250.

Videos[]

Eurovision_Song_Contest_2012_-_Grand_Final_-_Full_Show

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 - Grand Final - Full Show

References[]

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