The Eurovision Song Contest in 2008 was held in Belgrade, Serbia thanks to Marija, who won the previous contest with the song Molitva. The contest was the first to have two semi-finals, because of so many contestants. 43 countries participated and Dima Bilan won it for Russia, with the song Believe, the first time Russia won the contest.
Format[]
Creation of a second semi final[]
See: Semi Finals
Semi-finals were introduced in 2004 to cope with the influx of new countries arriving since 1993. However, they were quickly becoming out of control, as many entries failed as a result of being in a huge semi-final with 100% televote. At a press conference in Helsinki in May 2007, Svante Stockselius, Executive Supervisor of the Contest for the EBU, announced that the competition's format may be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008 or 2009. On 28 September 2007, it was announced that the EBU had approved the plan of hosting two semi-finals in 2008. Based on research conducted by the EBU's televoting partner Digame, the semi-finalists were sorted into the two heats through the drawing of lots, which was seeded to keep countries that have a significant history of voting for each other apart. Only the host country (Serbia) and the members of the Big Four were allowed guaranteed spots in the grand final.
The automatic finalist countries chose whether they would broadcast both semi-finals or just one, but viewers from these countries could only vote in one. From the draw conducted, it was decided which of the five finalist countries would broadcast and have voting rights in either of the events. The semi-finals were webcast live through Eurovision.tv. The top nine songs from the televoting qualified for the final, and a tenth was determined by the back-up juries. Twenty-five songs competed in the final.
Results[]
Semi-Final One[]
Germany and Spain voted in this semi-final, which was held on 20 May 2008, and the top nine countries qualified to the Grand Final through the televote and one country was picked by the Jury (highlighted in turquoise).
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Montenegro
|
Stefan Filipović | Zauvijek volim te | Montenegrin | I love you forever | 14 | 23 |
| 02 |  Israel
|
Boaz Ma'uda | The Fire In Your Eyes | Hebrew, English | -- | 5 | 104 |
| 03 |  Estonia
|
Kreisiraadio | Leto svet | Serbian, German, Finnish | Summer light | 18 | 8 |
| 04 |  Moldova
|
Geta Burlacu | A Century of Love | English | -- | 12 | 36 |
| 05 |  San Marino
|
Miodio | Complice | Italian | Accomplice | 19 | 5 |
| 06 |  Belgium
|
Ishtar | O Julissi | Imaginary | -- | 17 | 16 |
| 07 |  Azerbaijan
|
Elnur & Samir | Day After Day | English | 6 | 96 | |
| 08 |  Slovenia
|
Rebeka Dremelj | Vrag naj vzame | Slovene | To hell with it | 11 | 36 |
| 09 |  Norway
|
Maria Haukaas Storeng | Hold On Be Strong | English | -- | 4 | 106 |
| 10 |  Poland
|
Isis Gee | For Life | 10 | 42 | ||
| 11 |  Ireland
|
Dustin the Turkey | Irlande Douze Pointe | English, French | Ireland, 12 points | 15 | 22 |
| 12 |  Andorra
|
Gisela | Casanova | English, Catalan | -- | 15 | 22 |
| 13 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Laka | Pokušaj | Bosnian | Try | 9 | 72 |
| 14 |  Armenia
|
Sirusho | Qélé, Qélé | English, Armenian | Let's go, let's go | 2 | 139 |
| 15 |  The Netherlands
|
Hind | Your Heart Belongs to Me | English | -- | 13 | 27 |
| 16 |  Finland
|
Teräsbetoni | Missä miehet ratsastaa | Finnish | Where men ride | 8 | 79 |
| 17 |  Romania
|
Nico & Vlad | Pe-o margine de lume | Romanian, Italian | On the edge of the world | 7 | 94 |
| 18 |  Russia
|
Dima Bilan | Believe | English | -- | 3 | 135 |
| 19 |  Greece
|
Kalomira | Secret Combination | 1 | 156 |
Semi-Final Two[]
The United Kingdom, France and Serbia voted in this semi final, which was held on 22 May 2008, and the top nine countries qualified to the Grand Final through the televote, and one was picked by the Jury (highlighted in turquoise)
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Iceland
|
Euroband | This Is My Life | English | -- | 8 | 68 |
| 02 |  Sweden
|
Charlotte Perelli | Hero | 12 | 54 | ||
| 03 |  Türkiye
|
Mor ve Ötesi | Deli | Turkish | Insane | 7 | 85 |
| 04 |  Ukraine
|
Ani Lorak | Shady Lady | English | -- | 1 | 152 |
| 05 |  Lithuania
|
Jeronimas Milius | Nomads in the Night | 16 | 30 | ||
| 06 |  Albania
|
Olta Boka | Zemrën e lamë peng | Albanian | Hearts trapped in time | 9 | 67 |
| 07 |  Switzerland
|
Paolo Meneguzzi | Era stupendo | Italian | It was wonderful | 13 | 47 |
| 08 |  Czech Republic
|
Tereza Kerndlová | Have Some Fun | English | -- | 18 | 9 |
| 09 |  Belarus
|
Ruslan Alekhno | Hasta la Vista | See you soon | 17 | 27 | |
| 10 |  Latvia
|
Pirates of the Sea | Wolves of the Sea | -- | 6 | 86 | |
| 11 |  Croatia
|
Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents | Romanca | Croatian | Romance | 4 | 112 |
| 12 |  Bulgaria
|
Deep Zone and DJ Balthazar | DJ, Take Me Away | English | -- | 11 | 56 |
| 13 |  Denmark
|
Simon Mathew | All Night Long | 3 | 112 | ||
| 14 |  Georgia
|
Diana Gurtskaya | Peace Will Come | 5 | 107 | ||
| 15 |  Hungary
|
Csézy | Candlelight | English, Hungarian | 19 | 6 | |
| 16 |  Malta
|
Morena | Vodka | English | 14 | 38 | |
| 17 |  Cyprus
|
Evdokia Kadi | Femme Fatale | Greek | Fatal woman | 15 | 36 |
| 18 |  North Macedonia
|
Tamara, Vrčak and Adrian | Let Me Love You | English | -- | 10 | 64 |
| 19 |  Portugal
|
Vânia Fernandes | Senhora do mar (Negras águas) | Portuguese | Lady of the sea (dark waters) | 2 | 120 |
Grand Final[]
All participating countries voted in the grand final, which was held on 24 May 2008.
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Language | Translation | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Romania
|
Nico & Vlad | Pe-o margine de lume | Romanian, Italian | On the edge of the world | 20 | 45 |
| 02 |  United Kingdom
|
Andy Abraham | Even If | English | -- | 25 | 14 |
| 03 | Albania
|
Olta Boka | Zemrën e lamë peng | Albanian | Hearts trapped in time | 17 | 55 |
| 04 |  Germany
|
No Angels | Disappear | English | -- | 23 | 14 |
| 05 | Armenia
|
Sirusho | Qélé, Qélé | English, Armenian | Let's go, let's go | 4 | 199 |
| 06 | Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Laka | Pokušaj | Bosnian | Try | 10 | 110 |
| 07 | Israel
|
Boaz Ma'uda | The Fire In Your Eyes | Hebrew, English | The fire in your eyes | 9 | 124 |
| 08 | Finland
|
Teräsbetoni | Missä miehet ratsastaa | Finnish | Where men ride | 22 | 35 |
| 09 | Croatia
|
Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents | Romanca | Croatian | Romance | 21 | 44 |
| 10 | Poland
|
Isis Gee | For Life | English | -- | 24 | 14 |
| 11 | Iceland
|
Euroband | This Is My Life | 14 | 64 | ||
| 12 | Türkiye
|
Mor ve Ötesi | Deli | Turkish | Insane | 7 | 138 |
| 13 | Portugal
|
Vânia Fernandes | Senhora do mar (Negras águas) | Portuguese | Lady of the sea (Dark waters) | 13 | 69 |
| 14 | Latvia
|
Pirates of the Sea | Wolves of the Sea | English | -- | 12 | 83 |
| 15 | Sweden
|
Charlotte Perelli | Hero | 18 | 47 | ||
| 16 | Denmark
|
Simon Mathew | All Night Long | 15 | 60 | ||
| 17 | Georgia
|
Diana Gurtskaya | Peace Will Come | 11 | 83 | ||
| 18 | Ukraine
|
Ani Lorak | Shady Lady | 2 | 230 | ||
| 19 |  France
|
Sébastien Tellier | Divine | English, French | 19 | 47 | |
| 20 | Azerbaijan
|
Elnur & Samir | Day After Day | English | 8 | 132 | |
| 21 | Greece
|
Kalomira | Secret Combination | 3 | 218 | ||
| 22 |  Spain
|
Rodolfo Chikilicuatre | Baila el Chiki-Chiki | Spanish, English | Dance the chiki-chiki | 16 | 55 |
| 23 |  Serbia
|
Jelena Tomašević ft. Bora Dugić | Oro | Serbian | -- | 6 | 160 |
| 24 | Russia
|
Dima Bilan | Believe | English | 1 | 272 | |
| 25 | Norway
|
Maria Haukaas Storeng | Hold On Be Strong | 5 | 182 |
