Eurovision Song Contest 2006 - Noteworthy Occurrences and Records

Noteworthy Occurrences and Records

From the Final

• Finland had to wait forty-four years since their debut in 1961 to achieve their first victory. They had only received three 12 points in the history of the contest up to the 2006 contest, and none since 1977.
• Bosnia & Herzegovina reached third place, its highest position ever. The seventh place reached in 1999 had been its most successful entry.
• Sweden's Carola obtained 170 points without receiving 12 points from any one country and reached 5th place.
• Though Turkey was the fourth country with the most 12s (received from France, Germany and the Netherlands), the entry by Sibel Tüzün only reached 11th place with 91 points.
• Lithuania waited 12 years to receive their first 12 points. This was finally realised by points from Ireland.
• Runner-up Russia and 4th placed Romania were voted for by 35 countries, more than winner Finland, who received votes from 34 countries.
• The United Kingdom placed 19th, receiving points from 10 countries, while Macedonia (12th), Croatia (13th) and Denmark (18th) were voted for by 9, 8 and only 5 countries respectively.
• Both Turkey (91) and Finland (292) received the same number of points in the semifinal and the final.
• As of the conclusion of the 2008 contest, Greece holds the record for the most successful run in the Eurovision Song Contest since its shake-up in 2004. It is the only country that has not yet been relegated to the semi-final (excluding the Big Four), after having attained places in the top 10 since then (third in 2004, first in 2005, ninth in 2006). This record has been maintained beyond Athens, reaching seventh in Helsinki 2007, third in Belgrade 2008, seventh in Moscow 2009, eighth in Oslo 2010 and seventh again in Düsseldorf 2011. Turkey is followed after, in 2003 they won with Sertab Erener singing Everyway that I can. In 2004 (4th), In 2007 (4th), In 2008 (7th), In 2009 (4th) and In 2010 (2nd), unfortunately, their break ended when they couldn't participate for the Grand Final in 2011.
• Despite having withdrawn from the 2006 contest, Serbia and Montenegro retained their voting rights. During the announcement of their votes, spokesperson Jovana Janković said "So, as you know, we don't have a song for you this year, but we promise that next year we will give you the best one". Her promise was fulfilled when Marija Šerifović of Serbia won the contest the following year. Janković would also host the 2008 Contest.
• Alexis Kostalas, the long-time Greek spokesman, jokingly described Finland's Lordi "beautiful, gorgeous, sweet-looking creatures" before giving them the maximum twelve points, which eventually cemented their victory.
• The Norwegian entry "Alvedansen" performed by singer, songwriter Christine Guldbrandsen, is the first and until now, the latest entry performed in Norwegian Language since the end of the language-rule in 1999.
• For the first time ever, "Spidercam" technology was used in Eurovision