DUSSELDORF, GERMANY (Top40 Charts) After an exciting voting in front of tens of thousands of people in a fully packed Dusseldorf
Arena and millions of TV viewers all over Europe, it was finally Ell/Nikki from Azerbaijan who received the highest number of points from televoters and juries from the 43 countries participating in this year's edition of Europe's favourite TV-show! Ell/Nikki managed to gather 221 points altogether - followed by
Raphael Gualazzi from Italy with 189 points and Sweden's
Eric Saade who collected 185 points.
Europe experienced a breathtaking show live from the Dusseldorf Arena tonight with 25 acts from 25 countries giving their very best. 20 of these had qualified from the two Semi-Finals while host nation Germany and the rest of the so-called 'Big Five' - France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom - were automatically set for the Final. After all 43 countries had voted, it was Ell/Nikki from Azerbaijan who was the lucky winner with their song Running Scared, collecting 221 points altogether.
The dream to represent Azerbaijan in Eurovision has followed Nigar since 2000. That was when the Russian singer Alsou, highly popular in Azerbaijan, finished on the 2nd place in the Contest with her song Solo. Alsou's success gave Nigar the hope that one day her dream of performing on the Eurovision stage may become reality. Last autumn, Nigar revived her dream of taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Eldar Gasimov was born in Baku in 1989. Just like Nigar, Eldar has dreamt of performing on the Eurovision stage since 2000. He has passionately followed the Contest, particularly after Azerbaijan's 2008 debut. Last autumn, Eldar decided to try himself in the national Eurovision selection. He was one of 77 contenders to represent Azerbaijan in Eurovision 2011. After preliminary castings and 7 pre-selection shows, which were broadcast by the ITV channel, Eldar went to the national selection final and became one of the two winners. 50 percent jury impact
Just like in the last few years, a mixture of 50% televote and 50% jury was used. For this purpose, national juries consisting of five music industry professionals gathered in all 43 participating countries who ranked the songs in Eurovision Song Contest style, giving 12 points to their favourite song, 10 points to their second favourite, etc. The results of the five jury members were then added up and accounted for 50% of the country's votes. Those results were then combined with the televoting results.
The final took place on 14 May 2011. Only the "Big Five" countries automatically qualified for the final. From the two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May 2011, twenty countries qualified for the final. A total of twenty-five countries competed in the final. The voting system used was the same as in the 2010 contest, with a combination of televotes and jury votes selecting the winner. Viewers were be able to vote during the performances; the voting window ended 15 minutes after the conclusion of the songs. Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Final:
Place - Country - Performer - Song - Points
1. Azerbaijan - Ell/Nikki - Running Scared - 221
2. Italy - Raphael Gualazzi - Madness Of Love - 189
3. Sweden - Eric Saade - Popular - 185
4. Ukraine - Mika Newton - Angel - 159
5. Denmark - A Friend In London - New Tomorrow - 134
6. Bosnia & Herzegovina - Dino Merlin - Love In Rewind - 125
7. Greece - Loucas Yiorkas & Stereo Mike - Watch My Dance - 120
8. Ireland - Jedward - Lipstick - 119
9. Georgia - Eldrine - One More Day - 110
10. Germany - Lena - Taken By A Stranger - 107
11. United Kingdom - Blue - I Can - 100
12. Moldova - Zdob si Zdub - So Lucky - 97
13. Slovenia - Maja Keuc - No One - 96
14. Serbia - Nina - Caroban - 85
15. France - Amaury Vassili - Sognu - 82
16. Russia - Alexej Vorobjov - Get You - 77
17. Romania - Hotel FM - Change - 77
18. Austria - Nadine Beiler - The Secret Is Love - 64
19. Lithuania - Evelina Sasenko - C'est Ma Vie - 63
20. Iceland - Sjonni's Friends - Coming Home - 61
21. Finland - Paradise Oskar - Da Da Dam - 57
22. Hungary - Kati Wolf - What About My Dreams? - 53
23. Spain - Lucia Perez - Que Me Quiten Lo Bailao - They Can't Take The Fun Away From Me - 50
24. Estonia - Getter Jaani - Rockefeller Street - 44
25. Switzerland - Anna Rossinelli - In Love For A While - 19
