Ilham Aliyev watched the Grand Final of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest 2012

The grand final of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest has ended in Baku. According to the results of the vote among 42 countries, 28-year-old Swedish singer Loreen has won the contest with a song “Euphoria”.

President Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva and other family members watched the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 at the Baku Crystal Hall.

The most eagerly anticipated stage of the Eurovision song contest, which has been conducted for 57 years now, is the grand final. The day when the winner was to be declared was certainly the most interesting and exciting part of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest. The grand final was joined by winners of two semi-finals, the countries of “Big Five” and Azerbaijan as the winner of last year's contest. This explained the unending flow of people to the Baku Crystal Hall on the day of the final. For two weeks the attention of European music fans was focused on the capital of the land of fire, Baku, which has enchanted many visitors with its modernity, rapid development and the beauty that gave each tourist pleasant moments to remember.

Finally, at midnight Baku time on 26 May, the long-awaited grand final began. During the grand opening ceremony of the final, Europe had the opportunity to become acquainted with Azerbaijan’s diverse folk music.

The grand final of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest began with a lyrical melody played on the balaban, an ancient Azerbaijani folk instrument. Welcoming the audience, the hosts Leyla, Eldar and Nargiz, dressed in white as a symbol of peace, addressed Europe in Azeri, English, French and German.

The grand final continued with a performance by world-renowned performer of the Azerbaijani mugham, People's Artist Alim Gasimov. An unforgettable show by the rhythm band “Natig” and the song “Running Scared” by Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal gave everyone moments to savor.

Then the magnificent show continued with performances by participants from 26 countries – the UK, Hungary, Albania, Lithuania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Iceland, Cyprus, France, Italy, Estonia, Norway, Azerbaijan, Romania, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Malta, Macedonia, Ireland, Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova.

According to the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest, the jury votes the day before the final. The votes are kept secret until the end of the finals and are added to the votes of the audience.

In the break during the voting, short clips showing fragments of 26 songs featuring in the finals were demonstrated again.

Then renowned Azerbaijani composer and singer Emin Agalarov accompanied by a musical band of 68 persons appeared on the stage. Presenting his song “Never Enough” to the European audience, Emin Agalarov managed to slightly soften the excitement of the vote.

Finally, the voting was stopped and the count of the audience’s and the jury’s votes began.

Shortly after the voting by a total of 42 countries stopped, the first country to announce the results of its vote to the Baku Crystal Hall was Albania. Many were not surprised that most participating countries gave their decisive 8, 10 and 12 points to Sweden because from the early days of the contest the Swedish contender was considered favorite to win. After receiving the most votes, the Swedish singer Loreen won the contest.

Azerbaijan finished fourth in the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest. Ukraine, Malta, Lithuania and Turkey gave Azerbaijan 12 points, Georgia, Moldova, Bulgaria awarded 10 and Cyprus eight points.

The results of the Azerbaijani vote were announced by Safura Alizadeh who represented our country at the Eurovision-2010 Song Contest in Norway. Safura announced that Azerbaijan had given eight points to Malta, 10 to Russia and 12 to fraternal Turkey. The last country to vote was Ireland. Thus, after receiving 372 points, Sweden became the winner of the contest. Russia finished second, Serbia third and Azerbaijan fourth.

Under the rules of the contest, the winning participant came out on stage again and sang the song that brought her victory. On the stage of the Baku Crystal Hall, which impressed the whole world with its grandeur, Eurovision-2011 winners Eldar and Nigar congratulated the Swedish participant and gave her the Crystal microphone, the symbol of the contest.

Then, at the press center of the Baku Crystal Hall, the winner met with representatives of the media and answered questions. Loreen pointed to a high level of organization of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest, said the Baku Crystal Hall was magnificent, that Baku was a beautiful city and Azerbaijanis were very hospitable and friendly.

The semi-finals and the grand final of the Eurovision-2012 Song Contest held in Azerbaijan were broadcast live to 46 countries.