- Sweden wins the 60th Eurovision
- Winner: Måns Zelmerlöw with “Heroes”
- Sixth win for Sweden
- Read a whole lot more at The Local Sweden here
SWEDEN WINS AGAIN. READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE: http://t.co/dqoQ6gAYiT #eurovision pic.twitter.com/mbvZkjMWFU
— Oliver Gee (@olivergee23) May 23, 2015
00:52 Rosie Waites, Vienna
The Swedish fans here are ecstatic now – “it was a really catchy tune that deserved to win” said Lars, who runs a Swedish Eurovision fan club.
Meanwhile Austria has got zero points.
Here's how much Sweden loves #ESC: As a child I was only allowed to stay up late two nights a year, New Year's and #Eurovision. #Swe #ESCse
— Emma Lofgren (@ekjlofgren) May 23, 2015
23:55 Oliver Gee, Paris
Now the results are streaming in. Settle in, this is going to take a long, long time. And prepare for a lot of neighbourly voting.
I'm wondering if Sweden will actually win. Maybe Europe is sick of Sweden. Could it be Italy? Or could it, could it just be Australia?
23:49 Rosie Waites, Vienna
The voting is over and the energy is starting to fade in the press room as people hunker down to get their reports in but it’s been a fantastic evening so far (apart from the spats about who had what table and why there weren’t enough chairs).
There’s a general consensus that none of the acts are as exciting as Conchita’s star turn last year¨. The strongest show of support in the press room has been for Italy, Sweden and Australia – and some of the noisiest and funnest fans are from Israel.
There’s been whispers that the voting could get political, and this might affect Russia’s chances… let’s see what happens there.
The acts are all over, it's time to get voting. What a show!!
Not all Italians are as negative though. The fact is the boyband are incredibly popular in Italy, and even won the Sanremo Song Contest earlier this year (the most popular singing contest in Italy). They’ve also toured in the US and South America.”
23:03 Rosie Waites, Vienna
Just been speaking to a very stylish French fan who’s dressed like Marie Antoinette – he’s here to support France, of course, but otherwise he’s a big fan of Georgia’s Nina Sublatti – “she’s got the best costum, kind of edgy and dark”.
22:48 Rosie Waites, Vienna
22:30 Oliver Gee, Paris
22:30 Oliver Gee, Paris
This picture is all you need to know about the Latvian entry.
Been chatting to an Austrian journalist (whilst trying to hold on to my half a seat) and she thinks Eurovision has been amazing for Vienna – “it’s given it a personality transplant – it’s more fun and more friendly than it’s ever been”. How long will it last?
22:10 Oliver Gee, Paris
21:58 Oliver Gee, Paris
Here's Måns Zelmerlöw from Sweden. He is tipped as the winner, and I fancy his chances. In fact, I'm calling it now. Måns will bring back Eurovision glory to Sweden (not long after Loreen won, in fact, with Euphoria).
The gay community has tipped him too:
21:57 Rosie Waites, Vienna
I can confirm that the press centre is an alcohol free zone… journos here are fuelling themselves on the free pretzels and Mannerschnitten chocolates, there’s going to be a lot of snacks eaten tonight.
21:55 Oliver Gee, Paris
21:40 Oliver Gee, Paris
The UK's act is on stage now. Their electroswing song sounds like a car insurance ad crossed with the recent Great Gatsby soundtrack. Chances of winning? Slim to none, say the bookies. Our reporter in Austria Rosie Waites sent in this pic of at least one UK fan in the press room:
21:39 Rosie Waites, Vienna
Just been chatting to the BBC team here – they’re exhausted from a week of Eurovision reporting and are drinking tea to stay awake. Not much confidence in Britain’s entry… they seem to think Electro Velvet is going to do pretty poorly. Indeed, they're on now. Let's see how they go.
21:33 Oliver Gee, Paris
This entry from Israel wins three awards from me. One – worst prop with the golden shoes. Two – most blatant theft of another Eurovision winners' idea (the shoes again, they're from the Herreys, who won for Sweden back in 1984 singing about their golden shoes – see pic below). Three – oldest looking 16 year old in the competition. In fact, he's the only 16-year-old in the comp, and the youngest of all.
21:30 Oliver Gee, Paris
And that was France's entry. Which will probably come last. But that's ok, because the French don't care about Eurovision and definitely aren't watching. France has actually won five times though, read a lot more about their entry here.
21:23 Oliver Gee, Paris
Imagine a woman with the voice of Duffy and the headphones of Dr Dre. You've just imagined the entry from Slovenia. And you'd be forgiven for thinking her oversized headphones are the weirdest accessory of the night, but then again, you haven't seen the shoes on the contestant from Israel yet…
21:18 Oliver Gee, Paris
I think it's pretty clear who the fan favourites are. As the countries were announced, there were MASSIVE roars for both Sweden and Australia. That's where the smart money is (though bookmakers have also tipped Russia and Italy).
21:09 Rosie Waites, Vienna
An Australian reporter for ABC has kindly let me share her chair, it’s all about building bridges here. And a TV team from Australia’s SBS just gave me a team T-shirt. Are they trying to influence my vote?
And see if you can guess where the loyalties of this fan lie:
21:08 Rosie Waites, Vienna
The cheering and the clapping is getting deafening in here… 1,700 members of the press and fan sites here, from all over the world!
21:02 Rosie Waites, Vienna
And we’re off lots of shouting and cheering in the press area… I’m sitting on the floor as there are no chairs left. Everyone is clapping along.
21:00 Oliver Gee, Paris
AND IT HAS BEGUN, with a song from last year's winner, Conchita Wurst.
20:50 Rosie Waites, Vienna
It may be grey and drizzly in Vienna but the atmosphere is feeling pretty electric and the press hall is packed. There’s space for 1,500 journalists but a lot of people here are also blogging for fan sites.
There’s quite a bit of competition for seats with people reserving places well ahead of time and I just saw a bit of standoff between an Australian team and a Serbian team about whose table it was…
20:45 Oliver Gee, Paris
Hello and welcome to our live blog of the Eurovision song contest. I'm Oliver Gee, and I'll be guiding you through the evening from our Paris office, with help from our reporter Rosie Waites who is on the scene in Vienna.
The show is set to kick off at 9pm, with Sweden the red-hot favourites to win. Another favourite is Australia (yes, Australia), who were allowed to compete as a wildcard entry as the Aussies love this competition, and to recognize the 60th anniversary.
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