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Own Eurovision Song Contest 49
Uniqueness
Welcome to Finland!
Oesc49
Dates
Semi-final 1 date 10 February 2018
Semi-final 2 date 17 February 2018
Final date 4 March 2018
Host
Venue Gatorade Center
Turku, Finland
Presenter(s) Jaana Pelkonen
Samu Haber
Broadcaster YLE
Opening act "Nadaa" by Diandra
Participants
Entries 44
Debuting None
Returning Flag of Albania Albania
Flag of Belarus Belarus
Flag of Georgia Georgia
Flag of Iceland Iceland
Flag of Malta Malta
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro
Withdrawing Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Flag of Cyprus Cyprus
Flag of Egypt Egypt
Flag of France France
Flag of Hungary Hungary
Flag of Kosovo Kosovo
Flag of Latvia Latvia
Flag of Morocco Morocco
Flag of Poland Poland
Flag of Serbia Serbia
Voting
System Each country awardes 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favourite songs
Winner Flag of Russia Russia
"Uhodi"
Own Eurovision Song Contest
◄48 49 50►

Own Eurovision Song Contest 49, often referred to as OESC #49, was the 49th edition of Own Eurovision Song Contest. The competition took place in Turku, Finland, following country's victory at the 48th contest with the song "Nadaa", performed by Diandra.

Forty-four countries have confirmed their participation in the competition. The 49th edition saw Armenia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Hungary, Lebanon, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland returning in the competition, while Austria, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Macedonia, Malta and Portugal decided to withdraw.

The 49th edition consisted of three shows, including two semi-finals which took place on 10 and 17 February 2018 and a grand final, which took place on 4 March 2018, the motto of this edition being "Uniqueness".

After a tense voting process, Russia won the contest for the second time, with Sonya's song "Uhodi". Last time Finland won was in the Own Eurovision Song Contest 46, edition held in Cairo, Egypt. Russia received a total amount of 199 points, winning by a margin of 39 points. The runner-up of this edition was Czech Republic. Third place went to Luxembourg, fourth place went to Montenegro, while the fifth place went to the host country Finland and the sixth place went to the United Kingdom. Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Montenegro received their best place in the competition, since their debut.

From the countries that were automatically qualified in the Grand Final only the host country Finland finished in the top 10. Israel finished in the 12th place, Ukraine placed 13th, while San Marino finished in the 15th place, Moldova finished 18th and Sweden placed 21st out of 26 countries that were in the Grand Final.

Location

For more details on the host country, see Finland.

Venue

Gatorade Center (formerly HK Areena, Elysée Arena, Typhoon and Turkuhalli) is an arena in Turku, Finland. It is primarily used for ice hockey, but it is also frequently used to host concerts and other events. HK Arena was the main venue for the 1991 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and one of the venues in 1997 and 2003.

Gatorade Center opened in 1990 and holds 11,820 people. A record 12,041 attendance has been registered in 1991.

Bidding Phase

Own Eurovision Song Contest 49 is located in Finland
Red pog
Espoo
Red pog
Helsinki
Red pog
Rovaniemi
Red pog
Tampere
Red pog
Turku
Locations of the candidate cities.

YLE announced the conditions under which cities and venues had announced their interest in hosting the 49th contest:

  • The host city must be able to provide a certain number of hotels and hotel rooms to be found in the vicinity of the stadium.
  • The arena must able to offer lodges adjacent to the stadium.
  • A press centre must be available at the stadium that will have a specific size.
  • YLE must have access to the host venue at least 4–6 weeks before the broadcasts, in order to build the stage, rigging lights and all the technology.
  • The host city must be close to a major airport.

The following cities were interested in hosting the 49th edition:

City Venue Capacity
Espoo Espoo Metro Areena 8,582
Helsinki Hartwall Arena 12,000-15,000
Rovaniemi Lappi Areena 5,500
Tampere Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre 10,800
Turku Gatorade Center 11,820

This was the second time in the history of the Own Eurovision Song Contest when the competition was held in Finland. Last time the country hosted the Own Eurovision Song Contest 35.

Host City

Turku is a city on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Southwest Finland. Turku, as a town, was settled during the 13th century and founded most likely at the end of the 13th century, making it the oldest city in Finland. It quickly became the most important city in Finland, a status it retained for hundreds of years. After Finland became part of the Russian Empire (1809) and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland was moved to Helsinki (1812), Turku continued to be the most populous city in Finland until the end of the 1840s, and it remains a regional capital and an important business and cultural center.

Because of its long history, it has been the site of many important events, and has extensively influenced Finnish history. Along with Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia, Turku was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2011. In 1996, it was declared the official Christmas City of Finland.

Due to its location, Turku is a notable commercial and passenger seaport with over three million passengers traveling through the Port of Turku each year to Stockholm and Mariehamn.

As of 31 December 2016, the population of Turku was 187,564, making it the sixth largest city in Finland. There were 318,168 inhabitants living in the Turku sub-region, ranking it as the third largest urban area in Finland after the Greater Helsinki area and Tampere sub-region. The city is officially bilingual as 5.2 percent of its population identify Swedish as a mother-tongue.

Format

Semi-final Allocation Draw

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place on 29 January 2018, at Gatorade Center in Turku, Finland. The thirty-eighth semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called "bloc voting" and increase suspense in the semi-finals.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6

From these pots, 19 countries were allocated to compete in each semifinal. Israel, Sweden and Ukraine voted in the first semi-final, while Finland, Moldova and San Marino voted in the second semi-final.

Results

Semi-final 1

Nineteen countries participated in the first semi-final. Israel, Sweden and Ukraine voted in this semi-final.

Draw Country Artist Song Place Points
01 Flag of Austria Austria Victoria S "One In a Million" 16 34
02 Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Melis "Holding Hands" 4 98
03 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania Radistai DJs & Beatrich "Good Things" 17 28
04 Flag of Belarus Belarus Naviband "Biažy" 8 78
05 Flag of Albania Albania Çiljeta "Hajmali" 19 18
06 Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Angèle "La loi de Murphy" 1 129
07 Flag of Netherlands Netherlands Lady Dandelion "Starry Eyes" 3 105
08 Flag of Andorra Andorra Pablo Alborán "No vaya a ser" 18 22
09 Flag of Italy Italy Yombe "SDIMS" 15 52
10 Flag of Algeria Algeria Lynda "L'amour ne suffit pas" 9 74
11 Flag of Georgia Georgia Sophie Villy "Heart to Heart" 10 74
12 Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Jadranka Barjaktarović "Kad ljubav zaplače" 5 94
13 Flag of Iceland Iceland Kælan Mikla "Kalt" 7 83
14 Flag of Croatia Croatia Eni "Pepeo i prah" 14 54
15 Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Elvina "Bakı" 13 55
16 Flag of Faroe Islands Faroe Islands Yöhna "Na Na Na" 6 89
17 Flag of Monaco Monaco Tess "Love Gun" 2 105
18 Flag of Malta Malta Oxygyn "Bubblewrap" 11 73
19 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Seven Day Sleep "Red Lipstick Murders" 12 69

Semi-final 2

Nineteen countries participated in the second semi-final. Finland, Moldova and San Marino voted in this semi-final.

Draw Country Artist Song Place Points
01 Flag of Armenia Armenia Mariam Araqelyan "Kyanqis yerazanq" 15 50
02 Flag of Germany Germany Lea "Dach" 8 67
03 Flag of Slovakia Slovakia Kristina "Sympatie" 17 38
04 Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Moldir Auyelbekova "Tugan el" 4 98
05 Flag of Belgium Belgium Jasper Steverlinck "Here's to Love" 16 39
06 Flag of Lebanon Lebanon Nicole Saba "Soura Selfie" 14 52
07 Flag of Spain Spain Ruth Lorenzo "Good Girls Don't Lie" 5 98
08 Flag of Norway Norway Aurora "Winter Bird" 6 70
09 Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Palastic & Lea Santee "Talkin'" 10 66
10 Flag of Romania Romania Ligia Hojda "Fire Gun" 7 68
11 Flag of Estonia Estonia Liis Lemsalu "Sinuga koos" 12 56
12 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Hayes & Y "Always so Simple, Always so Cold" 11 63
13 Flag of Turkey Turkey Edis "Çok çok" 13 54
14 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Blubird "Fresh" 18 37
15 Flag of Russia Russia Sonya "Uhodi" 1 152
16 Flag of Denmark Denmark Liga feat. Amina "Venter på dig" 9 66
17 Flag of Greece Greece Naya "Prosopiko mou thema" 19 27
18 Flag of Ireland Ireland Heathers "Midnight Train" 2 125
19 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Tanya Lacey "Now That You're Gone" 3 108

Final

Draw Country Artist Song Place Points
01 Flag of San Marino San Marino Giulia Luzi "Paracadute" 15 97
02 Flag of Monaco Monaco Tess "Love Gun" 20 65
03 Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Melis "Holding Hands" 2 160
04 Flag of Russia Russia Sonya "Uhodi" 1 199
05 Flag of Romania Romania Ligia Hojda "Fire Gun" 25 39
06 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Tanya Lacey "Now That You're Gone" 6 133
07 Flag of Israel Israel Hats feat. Diana Golbi "Fire" 12 107
08 Flag of Faroe Islands Faroe Islands Yöhna "Na Na Na" 23 53
09 Flag of Finland Finland Titta "Polttomerkki" 5 140
10 Flag of Netherlands Netherlands Lady Dandelion "Starry Eyes" 16 87
11 Flag of Moldova Moldova Infected Rain "Mold" 18 72
12 Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Palastic & Lea Santee "Talkin'" 24 51
13 Flag of Norway Norway Aurora "Winter Bird" 10 115
14 Flag of Algeria Algeria Lynda "L'amour ne suffit pas" 17 73
15 Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Jadranka Barjaktarović "Kad ljubav zaplače" 4 146
16 Flag of Sweden Sweden Isa "Let It Kill You" 21 63
17 Flag of Georgia Georgia Sophie Villy "Heart to Heart" 19 72
18 Flag of Ireland Ireland Heathers "Midnight Train" 11 108
19 Flag of Belarus Belarus Naviband "Biažy" 9 127
20 Flag of Germany Germany Lea "Dach" 22 54
21 Flag of Iceland Iceland Kælan Mikla "Kalt" 7 133
22 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Alyosha "Kalina" 13 101
23 Flag of Denmark Denmark Liga feat. Amina "Venter på dig" 26 33
24 Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Angèle "La loi de Murphy" 3 152
25 Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Moldir Auyelbekova "Tugan el" 8 131
26 Flag of Spain Spain Ruth Lorenzo "Good Girls Don't Lie" 14 99

Scoreboards

Semifinal 1

Voting results Semi-Final 1
Austria Czech Republic Lithuania Belarus Albania Luxembourg The Netherlands Andorra Italy Algeria Georgia Montenegro Iceland Croatia Azerbaijan Faroe Islands Monaco Malta Switzerland Israel Sweden Ukraine Flag of Earth.svg Points Place
Contestants Austria 12 3 3 2 2 1 10 1 34 16
Czech Republic 4 12 10 6 8 7 12 1 5 3 5 12 2 8 3 98 4
Lithuania 2 2 2 2 4 4 2 10 28 17
Belarus 1 7 7 1 4 1 10 4 10 4 8 1 8 12 78 8
Albania 2 1 2 2 3 8 18 19
Luxembourg 10 5 6 5 12 10 12 3 6 7 6 6 2 7 2 12 10 8 129 1
Netherlands 7 7 4 6 3 4 8 5 10 12 6 12 12 1 4 1 3 105 3
Andorra 3 2 10 7 22 18
Italy 2 8 12 4 5 6 6 7 2 52 15
Algeria 10 4 8 8 12 5 1 8 5 2 2 3 5 1 74 9
Georgia 5 3 3 6 8 3 10 1 4 10 8 3 10 74 10
Montenegro 12 6 8 5 8 6 7 4 12 12 6 8 94 5
Iceland 8 12 10 4 1 5 12 3 6 10 12 83 7
Croatia 12 5 10 6 7 5 5 4 54 14
Azerbaijan 4 3 7 4 7 4 7 6 7 6 55 13
Faroe Islands 1 7 10 4 6 10 1 1 4 2 3 8 3 10 8 10 1 89 6
Monaco 6 12 1 5 6 7 2 8 1 7 3 8 5 4 7 12 6 5 105 2
Malta 8 5 1 2 7 5 4 5 12 3 7 6 3 5 73 11
Switzerland 6 3 7 1 3 2 8 10 10 5 7 1 2 4 69 12

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the first semi-final:

No. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
3 Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg
Flag of Iceland Iceland Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine
Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Algeria, Andorra, Switzerland
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands
Flag of Netherlands Netherlands Malta, Monaco, Montenegro
2 Flag of Monaco Monaco Lithuania, Sweden
1 Flag of Algeria Algeria Italy
Flag of Austria Austria Albania
Flag of Belarus Belarus Rest of the World
Flag of Croatia Croatia Austria
Flag of Italy Italy Netherlands
Flag of Malta Malta Croatia

Semifinal 2

Voting results Semi-Final 2
Armenia Germany Slovakia Kazakhstan Belgium Lebanon Spain Norway Liechtenstein Romania Estonia Bulgaria Turkey Slovenia Russia Denmark Greece Ireland United Kingdom Finland Moldova San Marino Flag of Earth.svg Points Place
Contestants Armenia 3 12 7 2 4 8 2 12 50 15
Germany 5 1 8 3 5 3 6 7 8 3 2 6 2 4 4 67 8
Slovakia 12 3 5 1 6 2 3 6 38 17
Kazakhstan 8 1 6 8 4 7 10 12 2 10 3 4 7 3 1 3 8 1 98 4
Belgium 2 8 6 10 1 12 39 16
Lebanon 7 12 12 1 3 12 5 52 14
Spain 6 6 7 12 10 3 5 5 4 1 7 4 10 8 10 98 5
Norway 7 2 4 3 8 4 12 5 1 3 2 7 6 6 70 6
Liechtenstein 4 1 5 6 7 2 3 12 5 5 7 6 3 66 10
Romania 1 7 4 1 6 6 3 5 7 6 4 8 5 2 3 68 7
Estonia 10 5 6 1 10 2 1 4 1 4 5 7 56 12
Bulgaria 4 3 8 2 7 6 6 7 10 10 63 11
Turkey 4 10 7 4 8 1 8 1 3 8 54 13
Slovenia 5 5 7 1 10 4 5 37 18
Russia 12 8 12 8 12 5 4 12 10 10 7 10 10 12 1 4 8 7 152 1
Denmark 3 10 2 4 6 1 8 7 1 6 1 5 12 66 9
Greece 2 2 8 5 4 1 5 27 19
Ireland 2 6 10 2 10 12 2 12 2 8 6 7 12 12 2 10 2 8 125 2
United Kingdom 10 3 8 3 5 7 10 4 10 12 6 5 8 12 3 2 108 3

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the second semi-final:

No. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
5 Flag of Russia Russia Armenia, Ireland, Lebanon, Romania, Slovakia
4 Flag of Ireland Ireland Estonia, Greece, Norway, United Kingdom
3 Flag of Lebanon Lebanon Denmark, Liechtenstein, Spain
2 Flag of Armenia Armenia Finland, Kazakhstan
Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Moldova, Russia
1 Flag of Belgium Belgium Rest of the World
Flag of Denmark Denmark San Marino
Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Turkey
Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Slovenia
Flag of Norway Norway Bulgaria
Flag of Slovakia Slovakia Germany
Flag of Spain Spain Belgium

Grand Final

Voting results Grand Final
San Marino Monaco Czech Republic Russia Romania United Kingdom Israel Faroe Islands Finland Netherlands Moldova Liechtenstein Norway Algeria Montenegro Sweden Georgia Ireland Belarus Germany Iceland Ukraine Denmark Luxembourg Kazakhstan Spain Austria Lithuania Albania Andorra Italy Croatia Azerbaijan Malta Switzerland Armenia Slovakia Belgium Lebanon Estonia Bulgaria Turkey Slovenia Greece Flag of Earth.svg Points Place
Contestants San Marino 12 8 3 6 3 2 3 12 1 4 10 5 12 4 7 5 97 15
Monaco 2 5 3 2 8 4 5 8 6 1 1 7 5 3 1 4 65 20
CzechRepublic 8 8 2 2 12 5 12 2 7 1 8 4 10 7 12 10 5 4 5 5 6 4 10 2 3 6 160 2
Russia 6 12 6 7 7 2 4 8 8 12 8 3 8 5 10 7 8 12 8 1 12 12 10 4 8 4 2 5 199 1
Romania 10 6 7 2 3 5 2 3 1 39 25
UnitedKingdom 8 8 8 1 5 4 5 7 2 10 1 1 10 4 1 12 7 3 8 8 1 5 8 6 133 6
Israel 6 10 12 1 5 8 8 5 6 6 4 1 4 12 1 2 1 1 7 7 107 12
FaroeIslands 3 4 4 2 7 3 2 1 6 7 8 1 5 53 23
Finland 7 4 5 10 1 12 10 7 12 10 10 10 4 8 3 1 10 4 2 1 5 1 3 140 5
Netherlands 10 4 3 8 3 7 12 2 1 12 5 8 12 87 16
Moldova 5 6 2 3 1 10 12 6 6 7 2 1 4 7 72 18
Liechtenstein 2 6 1 3 3 2 2 6 3 2 7 2 12 51 24
Norway 10 7 2 6 8 8 1 12 1 3 3 7 8 10 12 6 5 2 4 115 10
Algeria 3 6 10 4 4 7 6 6 12 3 12 73 17
Montenegro 1 4 12 3 7 4 7 5 6 6 8 12 2 7 6 3 10 12 10 7 10 4 146 4
Sweden 4 6 8 5 1 2 5 3 5 4 5 3 6 3 3 63 21
Georgia 7 6 4 10 4 4 1 1 8 8 6 3 10 72 19
Ireland 12 1 12 10 7 12 4 3 2 2 5 2 4 6 2 2 3 8 3 8 108 11
Belarus 1 7 5 12 10 6 3 6 10 8 5 7 3 8 7 10 7 6 5 1 127 9
Germany 5 10 2 12 6 1 2 2 7 5 2 54 22
Iceland 12 5 1 12 10 5 12 12 5 8 12 7 12 12 8 133 7
Ukraine 10 10 3 6 3 7 4 5 5 6 4 3 4 4 6 10 12 101 13
Denmark 1 1 4 5 4 2 6 2 2 6 33 26
Luxembourg 3 3 10 1 7 6 12 1 7 6 4 7 4 10 8 7 12 6 4 6 8 10 10 152 3
Kazakhstan 4 2 12 7 1 2 10 5 5 3 8 1 3 10 10 2 7 8 6 6 12 7 131 8
Spain 5 5 3 7 4 10 8 2 3 5 10 8 10 3 1 8 7 99 14
The table is ordered by appearance in the final, then by appearance in the semi-finals.

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's vote in the Grand Final:

No. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
7 Flag of Iceland Iceland Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, San Marino, Spain
5 Flag of Russia Russia Armenia, Croatia, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia
3 Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Iceland, Israel, Netherlands
Flag of Ireland Ireland Monaco, Norway, United Kingdom
Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Azerbaijan, Denmark, Liechtenstein
Flag of Netherlands Netherlands Luxembourg, Malta, Rest of the World
Flag of San Marino San Marino Austria, Belgium, Russia
2 Flag of Algeria Algeria Italy, Lebanon
Flag of Finland Finland Sweden, Ukraine
Flag of Israel Israel Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan
Flag of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Czech Republic, Turkey
Flag of Luxembourg Luxembourg Algeria, Andorra
Flag of Norway Norway Montenegro, Switzerland
1 Flag of Belarus Belarus Finland
Flag of Germany Germany Lithuania
Flag of Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Slovenia
Flag of Moldova Moldova Germany
Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Greece
Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Albania

Other countries

Eligibility for potential participation in the Own Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active OEBU membership that would be able to broadcast the contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below.

  • Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina: The country is taking a break for one edition.
  • Flag of Cyprus Cyprus: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal and didn't reveal any news about a possible comeback yet.
  • Flag of Egypt Egypt: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of France France: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Hungary Hungary: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Kosovo Kosovo: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Latvia Latvia: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Macedonia Macedonia: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Morocco Morocco: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Poland Poland: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Portugal Portugal: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.
  • Flag of Serbia Serbia: The broadcaster announced its withdrawal.

See also

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