Eurovision Song Contest Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Eurovision Song Contest Wiki

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 Flag of Montenegro Montenegro Stefan Filipović Zauvijek volim te Montenegrin I love you forever 14 23
02 Flag of Israel Israel Boaz Ma'uda The Fire In Your Eyes Hebrew, English -- 5 104
03 Flag of Estonia Estonia Kreisiraadio Leto svet Serbian, German, Finnish Summer light 18 8
04 Flag of Moldova Moldova Geta Burlacu A Century of Love English -- 12 36
05 Flag of San Marino San Marino Miodio Complice Italian Accomplice 19 5
06 Flag of Belgium Belgium Ishtar O Julissi Imaginary -- 17 16
07 Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Elnur & Samir Day After Day English 6 96
08 Flag of Slovenia Slovenia Rebeka Dremelj Vrag naj vzame Slovene To hell with it 11 36
09 Flag of Norway Norway Maria Haukaas Storeng Hold On Be Strong English -- 4 106
10 Flag of Poland Poland Isis Gee For Life 10 42
11 Flag of Ireland Ireland Dustin the Turkey Irlande Douze Pointe English, French Ireland, 12 points 15 22
12 Flag of Andorra Andorra Gisela Casanova English, Catalan -- 15 22
13 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Laka Pokušaj Bosnian Try 9 72
14 Flag of Armenia Armenia Sirusho Qélé, Qélé English, Armenian Let's go, let's go 2 139
15 Flag of The Netherlands The Netherlands Hind Your Heart Belongs to Me English -- 13 27
16 Flag of Finland Finland Teräsbetoni Missä miehet ratsastaa Finnish Where men ride 8 79
17 Flag of Romania Romania Nico & Vlad Pe-o margine de lume Romanian, Italian On the edge of the world 7 94
18 Flag of Russia Russia Dima Bilan Believe English -- 3 135
19 Flag of Greece 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 Flag of Iceland Iceland Euroband This Is My Life English -- 8 68
02 Flag of Sweden Sweden Charlotte Perelli Hero 12 54
03 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Mor ve Ötesi Deli Turkish Insane 7 85
04 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Ani Lorak Shady Lady English -- 1 152
05 Flag of Lithuania Lithuania Jeronimas Milius Nomads in the Night 16 30
06 Flag of Albania Albania Olta Boka Zemrën e lamë peng Albanian Hearts trapped in time 9 67
07 Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Paolo Meneguzzi Era stupendo Italian It was wonderful 13 47
08 Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Tereza Kerndlová Have Some Fun English -- 18 9
09 Flag of Belarus Belarus Ruslan Alekhno Hasta la Vista See you soon 17 27
10 Flag of Latvia Latvia Pirates of the Sea Wolves of the Sea -- 6 86
11 Flag of Croatia Croatia Kraljevi ulice & 75 Cents Romanca Croatian Romance 4 112
12 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Deep Zone and DJ Balthazar DJ, Take Me Away English -- 11 56
13 Flag of Denmark Denmark Simon Mathew All Night Long 3 112
14 Flag of Georgia Georgia Diana Gurtskaya Peace Will Come 5 107
15 Flag of Hungary Hungary Csézy Candlelight English, Hungarian 19 6
16 Flag of Malta Malta Morena Vodka English 14 38
17 Flag of Cyprus Cyprus Evdokia Kadi Femme Fatale Greek Fatal woman 15 36
18 Flag of Macedonia North Macedonia TamaraVrčak and Adrian Let Me Love You English -- 10 64
19 Flag of Portugal 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 Flag of Romania Romania Nico & Vlad Pe-o margine de lume Romanian, Italian On the edge of the world 20 45
02 Flag of United Kingdom United Kingdom Andy Abraham Even If English -- 25 14
03 Flag of Albania Albania Olta Boka Zemrën e lamë peng Albanian Hearts trapped in time 17 55
04 Flag of Germany Germany No Angels Disappear English -- 23 14
05 Flag of Armenia Armenia Sirusho Qélé, Qélé English, Armenian Let's go, let's go 4 199
06 Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Laka Pokušaj Bosnian Try 10 110
07 Flag of Israel Israel Boaz Ma'uda The Fire In Your Eyes Hebrew, English The fire in your eyes 9 124
08 Flag of Finland Finland Teräsbetoni Missä miehet ratsastaa Finnish Where men ride 22 35
09 Flag of Croatia Croatia Kraljevi ulice75 Cents Romanca Croatian Romance 21 44
10 Flag of Poland Poland Isis Gee For Life English -- 24 14
11 Flag of Iceland Iceland Euroband This Is My Life 14 64
12 Flag of Turkey Türkiye Mor ve Ötesi Deli Turkish Insane 7 138
13 Flag of Portugal Portugal Vânia Fernandes Senhora do mar (Negras águas) Portuguese Lady of the sea (Dark waters) 13 69
14 Flag of Latvia Latvia Pirates of the Sea Wolves of the Sea English -- 12 83
15 Flag of Sweden Sweden Charlotte Perelli Hero 18 47
16 Flag of Denmark Denmark Simon Mathew All Night Long 15 60
17 Flag of Georgia Georgia Diana Gurtskaya Peace Will Come 11 83
18 Flag of Ukraine Ukraine Ani Lorak Shady Lady 2 230
19 Flag of France France Sébastien Tellier Divine English, French 19 47
20 Flag of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Elnur & Samir Day After Day English 8 132
21 Flag of Greece Greece Kalomira Secret Combination 3 218
22 Flag of Spain Spain Rodolfo Chikilicuatre Baila el Chiki-Chiki Spanish, English Dance the chiki-chiki 16 55
23 Flag of Serbia Serbia Jelena Tomašević ft. Bora Dugić Oro Serbian -- 6 160
24 Flag of Russia Russia Dima Bilan Believe English 1 272
25 Flag of Norway Norway Maria Haukaas Storeng Hold On Be Strong 5 182
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

Videos[]

Eurovision_Song_Contest_2008_-_Grand_Final_-_Full_Show

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 - Grand Final - Full Show

Advertisement