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The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition held in Athens, Greece at the OAKA Olympic Arena and was presented by Greek-born American TV personality Maria Menounos and 2004 Eurovision participant Sakis Rouvas. The semi-final was held on 18 May 2006 and the final on 20 May 2006.

A new system was adopted this year regarding the presentation of each country's votes. Instead of having the individual spokesperson read out every point as done in the past, the scores from 1-7 were shown on screen first, followed by the spokesperson only reading out the top 3 scores of 8, 10 and 12 points. This new system helped shave approximately 40 minutes off the show's running time and has been used ever since.

The contest was won by Finland, considered to be the "underachievers" of Eurovision, with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah performed by the group Lordi. It is the first hard rock song to ever win the contest, winning both the semi and the final with the same amount of points. Finland waited a full 45 years for their first victory, eclipsing the previous mark of 31 years set by Greece the year before. That record has since been eclipsed by Portugal with their victory in 2017 ending a 53-year drought.

Format[]

Presenters[]

Television presenter Maria Menounos and two-time Eurovision entrant for Greece Sakis Rouvas hosted the contest.

Theme[]

2006Logo

The logo of the 2006 Contest was created by the design company Karamela, and it was based on the Phaistos Disc - a symbol of ancient Greece. According to ERT, it was "inspired by the wind and the sea, the golden sunlight and the glow of the sand".

The Pre-Song Postcards showed places connected to Greece's history as well as its modern tourism hotspots.

Incidents[]

  • Paul de Leeuw, the Dutch spokesperson, insisted on pretending to give Rouvas his phone number and announce points 1 to 7, which were already displayed to save time.
  • Constantinos Christoforou gave his votes from Cyprus whilst the graphic showed Switzerland was calling.
  • EBU imaging overrode Menounos during a voting interval segment.
  • The Icelandic Participant, Silvia Night, caused controversy during the week of rehearsals by being rude to the other participants, journalists and Greek people, even accusing Carola, the officials made sure they she was far away from Carola to avoid an Argument. Little did anyone know that Silvia Night was a Character from an Icelandic sitcom played by Augusta Eva Erlandsdottir.

Participants[]

37 countries participated, Armenia making its debut with Austria and Hungary withdrawing. Serbia and Montenegro also withdrew due to a scandal at the national final and ultimately Montenegro seceded 2 weeks after the final. Ireland's entry was the 1,000th song performed at the contest.

Semi-final[]

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Armenia Armenia André Without Your Love English -- 6 150
02 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Mariana Popova Let Me Cry 17 36
03 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Anžej Dežan Mr Nobody 16 49
04 Flag of Andorra Andorra Jennifer Serrano Sense tu Catalan Without you 23 8
05 Flag of Belarus Belarus Polina Smolova Mum English -- 22 10
06 Flag of Albania Albania Luiz Ejlli Zjarr e ftohtë Albanian Fire and cold 14 58
07 Flag of Belgium Belgium Kate Ryan Je t'adore English, French I adore you 12 69
08 Flag of Ireland Ireland Brian Kennedy Every Song Is a Cry for Love English -- 9 79
09 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Annet Artani Why Angels Cry 15 57
10 Flag of Monaco Monaco Séverine Ferrer La Coco-Dance French, Tahitian The Coco-Dance 21 14
11 Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia Elena Risteska Ninanajna English, Macedonian -- 10 76
12 Flag of Poland Poland Ich Troje ft. Real McCoy Follow My Heart English, Polish, Spanish, German, Russian 11 70
13 Flag of Russia Russia Dima Bilan Never Let You Go English 3 217
14 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Sibel Tüzün Süper Star English, Turkish Superstar 8 91
15 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Tina Karol Show Me Your Love English -- 7 146
16 Flag of Finland Finland Lordi Hard Rock Hallelujah 1 292
17 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Treble Amambanda English, Imaginary 20 22
18 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania LT United We Are the Winners English 5 163
19 Flag of Portugal Portugal Nonstop Coisas de nada (Gonna Make You Dance) English, Portuguese Meaningless things 19 26
20 Flag of Sweden Sweden Carola Häggkvist Invincible English -- 4 214
21 Flag of Estonia Estonia Sandra Oxenryd Through My Window 18 28
22 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Hari Mata Hari Lejla Bosnian Layla 2 267
23 Flag of Iceland Iceland Silvia Night Congratulations English -- 13 62

Final[]

All countries voted including Serbia and Montenegro. The final took place on 20 May 2006. Lordi won for Finland with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah.

Draw Country Artist Song Language Translation Place Points
01 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Six4One If We All Give A Little English -- 16 30
02 Flag of Moldova Moldova Arsenium ft. Connect-R & Natalia Gordienko Loca English, Spanish Crazy 20 22
03 Flag of Israel Israel Eddie Butler Together We Are One English, Hebrew -- 23 4
04 Flag of Latvia Latvia Vocal Group Cosmos I Hear Your Heart English 17 30
05 Flag of Norway Norway Christine Gulbrandsen Alvedansen Norwegian The elf dance 14 36
06 Flag of Spain Spain Las Ketchup Un Blodymary Spanish A Bloody Mary 21 18
07 Flag of Malta Malta Fabrizio Faniello I do English -- 24 1
08 Flag of Germany Germany Texas Lightning No No Never 14 36
09 Flag of Denmark Denmark Sidsel Ben Semmane Twist of Love 18 26
10 Flag of Russia Russia Dima Bilan Never Let You Go 2 248
11 Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia Elena Risteska Ninanajna English, Macedonian 12 56
12 Flag of Romania Romania Mihai Trăistariu Tornerò English, Italian I will return 4 172
13 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Hari Mata Hari Lejla Bosnian -- 3 229
14 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania LT United We Are the Winners English, French 6 162
15 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Daz Sampson Teenage Life English 19 25
16 Flag of Greece Greece Anna Vissi Everything 9 128
17 Flag of Finland Finland Lordi Hard Rock Hallelujah 1 292
18 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Tina Karol Show Me Your Love 7 145
19 Flag of France France Virginie Pouchain Il était temps French It was time 22 5
20 Flag of Croatia Croatia Severina Moja štikla Croatian My high heel 12 56
21 Flag of Ireland Ireland Brian Kennedy Every Song Is a Cry for Love English -- 10 93
22 Flag of Sweden Sweden Carola Invincible 5 170
23 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Sibel Tüzün Süper Star English, Turkish Superstar 11 91
24 Flag of Armenia Armenia André Without Your Love English -- 8 129


Eurovision Song Contest
Editions
195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
Countries
AlbaniaAndorraArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBelarusBelgiumBosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaCroatiaCyprusCzechiaDenmarkEstoniaFinlandFranceGeorgiaGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandIsraelItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMoldovaMonacoMontenegroMoroccoThe NetherlandsNorth MacedoniaNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaSerbia and MontenegroSlovakiaSloveniaSpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUnited KingdomUkraineYugoslavia
Winning Songs
RefrainNet Als ToenDors, mon amourEen beetjeTom PillibiNous les amoureuxUn premier amourDanseviseNon ho l'etàPoupée de Cire, Poupée de SonMerci, ChériePuppet on a StringLa, La, LaBoom Bang-a-BangVivo CantandoUn jour, un enfantDe TroubadourAll Kinds of EverythingUn banc, un arbre, une rueAprès ToiTu Te ReconnaîtrasWaterlooDing-a-DongSave Your Kisses For MeL'Oiseau et l'enfantA-Ba-Ni-BiHallelujahWhat's Another YearMaking Your Mind UpEin bißchen FriedenSi la vie est cadeauDiggiloo DiggileyLa Det SwingeJ'aime La VieHold Me NowNe Partez Pas Sans MoiRock MeInsieme: 1992Fångad av en stormvindWhy Me?In Your EyesRock 'n' Roll KidsNocturneThe VoiceLove Shine a LightDivaTake Me To Your HeavenFly on the Wings of LoveEverybodyI WannaEveryway That I CanWild DancesMy Number OneHard Rock HallelujahMolitvaBelieveFairytaleSatelliteRunning ScaredEuphoriaOnly TeardropsRise Like a PhoenixHeroes1944Amar pelos doisToyArcadeZitti e buoniStefaniaTattoo
Specials
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song ContestEurovision's Greatest HitsEurope Shine a Light
Aspects of Eurovision
CommentatorEuroClubEurovision VillageExecutive SupervisorFlag ParadeGrand PrixGreen RoomHead of DelegationInterval ActNational FinalNational JuryOfficial RulesOpening CeremonyPre-PartiesPre-Song PostcardsReference GroupRest of the World VoteRunning Order DrawSemi-FinalsScoreboardSpokespersonTelevotingVoting Systems
Miscellaneous
Big FiveCurse of 43Curse of Number TwoCurse of GreenDouze Points!ESCRadio AwardsESC Top 250Eurovision AgainEurovision National BroadcastersEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire SagaFounding SevenLGBT visibilityLynda WoodruffMarcel Bezençon AwardsNul PointsOGAERecordsStand-insThe Reorder BoardTie SituationTop Scoring SongsVoting DiasporaWinner's CurseWithdrawn SongsYou're a Vision Award

Trivia[]

  • After this edition was shown as part of Eurovision Again in mid-2020, the EBU came on board with their support for the project.
  • Hard Rock Hallelujah was the first semi-final winner to win the entire contest as well (Wild Dances came second in the 2004 semi-final, while My Number One was an auto-qualifier for 2005).
  • Tapes of the 2006 contest recorded in high definition were unearthed by ERT in July 2021. The tapes were sent to the Netherlands to be digitized and the EBU aired the high-definition broadcast on the official YouTube channel on 31 July 2021.
  • Strangely, the EBU counts Serbia and Montenegro as being last place in the semi-final.
  • Co-presenter Maria Menounos co-hosted the 2023 Miss Universe pageant in El Salvador.
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