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The 50th Eurovision Song Contest took place on 21st May 2005 in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. 24 countries participated in the Grand Final. 

Many happy returns

The 2005 contest was seen by many as an open competition with fans and pundits divided over which country would win. 

The 2005 contest saw many previous participants return to the stage. Helena Paparizou, who represented Greece as part of the group Antique, returned to the contest with the song My Number One. Chiara, who finished third for Malta in 1998, returned to the contest as did Constantinos Christoforou who represented Cyprus in 1996 and in 2002 as part of the group One. Annabel Conde, who represented Spain in 1995 was a backing singer for Andorra and Selma who finished second for Iceland in 1999, failed to qualify from the Semi-Final with her song If I Had Your Love

About the winner 

After an unpredictable start to the voting procedure, it soon became clear that Greece, represented by Helena Paparizou with the song My Number One, would win the contest. Malta's Chiara finished one place higher than her previous appearance finishing in second place. The Romanian entry, Let Me Try by Luminita Anghel & Sistem, came third after winning the Semi-Final. 

Facts and Figures

  • The Kyiv contest marked the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest. A gala celebrating this milestone was held later in 2005 in Copenhagen. The event, known as Congratulations, saw ABBA's Waterloo crowned the most popular winner of all time.
  • The Swiss entry Cool Vibes was performed by popular Estonian girl group Vanilla Ninja. The entry was composed by David Brandes who was also responsible for the German entry in 2005, Run And Hide. 
  • The slogan for 2005 was Awakening, which reflected the political developments in the country at the time.