Eurovision Song Contest Sweden 2013

After Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Azerbaijan with the song called Euphoria, Eurovision Song Contest 2013 took place in Malmö, Sweden. This was the fifth time Sweden hosted the competition. Total of 39 countries participated. The first Semi-Final was held on May 14th and the second Semi-Final was held on May 16th. The winner was selected at the Grand Final on May 18th. The winner of the competition was Emmelie de Forest from Denmark with the song called Only Teardrops. The song gained a total of 281 points. This was the third Eurovision Song Contest victory for Denmark.

The “Parade of Nations” concept, where all performers in the final are presenting themselves with their national flags before the contest, was brought back after a long break. The concept was used from 1958 to 1963 and had a one time appearance in 1983.

Lithuanian media released an undercover video suggesting that Azerbaijan representatives were trying to bribe Lithuanians to get televotes and supplying them SIM cards for the voting. It was also suggested that similar activity was taking place in a total of 15 countries. Despite the video it was still confirmed that the contest had a “fair and transparent result”. The EBU later confirmed an attempt of cheating which was unsuccessful as the EBU’s system prevented the fraud. The rules were changed the next year to ensure that all broadcasters would be responsible for preventing fraud to their advantage or face a three-year suspension if fraud is revealed. In 2015 a member of the contest’s Reference Group confirmed that Azerbaijan had cheated and Azerbaijan officially gave no points to Russia, despite Russia came second in the country’s televotes.