Y'know, as soon as the votes closed the Finnish announcers on YLE said that Norway had ALREADY booked a hall for hosting the contest, before they even knew the final's results.

Presumably Norway had overwhelmingly won the semi-finals just like Lordi did.

EDIT: Apparently the UK bookmakers had Norway on odds of just 4/5 to win. They must have known some kind of inside information about the voting in the semis, which is breaking the rules.

Good Grief, The UK is actually getting a respectable score for the first time in years - WooHoo!

They should have done it with last year's song, which was quite good. This year's was terrible!

don't remember last years. still trying to blank out the dodgy airline song/group, and the really dodgy teacher/schoolgirl act from a couple of years ago.

Quite a number of decent songs this year, quite impressed - Norway did very very well though. Kudos to them.

Goddamn, I hate Eurovision. Senseless, unfair money washer. Screw that screaming drunk belarus immigrant... Norway has a bunch of great voices, Taria from Nightwish for example, why the hell they showed that crap?!
P.S.: Estonia, we love ya

Great winner. I like the song. Bosnia&Herzegovina, Sweden, Malta or France were great as well.... Actually, I cannot remember a ESC with so many great performances.

LOL
That really is an accurate representation of voting in ESC.

That's what motivated Spain "protest singer" in 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRQhZtbm97I
LOL
I still remember when he was chosen by popular vote, he couldn't believe it and some of the other participants started crying. He was a comedian in a popular night TV show and went to the RTVE contest just for the fun.
There is a wikipedia page too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Chikilicuatre

Yes, surprisingly good stuff compared to previous years, don't know if it was because of the jury vote or are people coming to their senses Even the previously regularly, kahm, downvoted countries managed to get good performers and, more surprisingly a solid number of votes.

PS. To a poster above: Tarja Tulonen is from Finland.

PPS. Who is the SEVENTH in the Yugoslav backpattery !?! I just miss that one, the poodle and 2 from the russian block, all the rest are solved/assigned !

I had missed that. How embarrassing, I couldn't make it beyond 2:20.

Watching the video of the winner now. I had to check it was really Norway and no Ireland. Also the name didn't sound too Norwegian but then I learned he is born in Minsk. Definitely something is changing in Europe! Yes, for good, although something is to be missed if no local languages and flavours of EU-cheesiness show up anymore.

About the guy. He has good voice, plays the viano and violin since the age of 5, has a sense of choreography and is cute. Well done, boy. Now, escape from ESC asap!

He was the most voted spanish participant in the last six years (counting this year too).