Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Eurovision Song Contest 2010
Share the Moment
Dates
Semi-final 1	25 May 2010 (2010-05-25)
Semi-final 2	27 May 2010 (2010-05-27)
Final	29 May 2010 (2010-05-29)
Host
Venue	Telenor Arena Oslo, Norway[1]
Presenter(s)	Erik Solbakken Haddy N'jie Nadia Hasnaoui[2]
Directed by	Ole Jørgen Grønlund Kim Strømstad
Executive supervisor	Svante Stockselius
Executive producer	Jon Ola Sand
Host broadcaster	Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK)
Website	eurovision.tv/event/oslo-2010
Participants
Number of entries	39
Number of finalists	25
Debuting countries	None
Returning countries	Georgia
Non-returning countries	Andorra  Czech Republic  Hungary  Montenegro
Participation map      Finalist countries     Countries eliminated in the semi-finals     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2010
Vote
Voting system	Each country awarded 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs.
Winning song	Germany "Satellite"
2009 ← Eurovision Song Contest → 2011

The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the 2009 contest with the song "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), the contest was held at the Telenor Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 25 and 27 May, and a final on 29 May 2010, tying with the 1999 edition for the contest hosted the latest.^[1][3] The three live shows were presented by Norwegian television presenters Erik Solbakken and Nadia Hasnaoui and singer Haddy N'jie.^[2]

Thirty-nine countries took part in the contest, with Georgia returning after its one-year absence. Meanwhile, Andorra, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Montenegro ceased their participation, mainly for reasons related to the 2007–2008 financial crisis. Lithuania originally announced its non-participation, but was later among the participants confirmed by the EBU.^[4][5]

The winner was Germany with the song "Satellite", performed by Lena and written by American Julie Frost and Denmark's John Gordon. The song won both the jury vote and televote and was Germany's second victory in the contest, following 1982. It was also its first win as a unified country. It was also the first win for one of the "Big Four" countries since the rule's introduction in 2000. Turkey, Romania, Denmark and Azerbaijan rounded out the top five. Romania, finishing third, equalled their best result from 2005, while further down the table, Georgia achieved their best result to date, finishing ninth. For the first time since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Sweden failed to qualify for the final. The last time Sweden was absent from a Eurovision final was in 1976.

The global financial crisis at the time affected how the event was run; the host broadcaster NRK was forced to sell its broadcast rights for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to TV 2 and Viasat in order to finance the event.^[6]

Prior to the contest, the EBU announced that the voting system used in the semi-finals would change from previous years to balance jury voting with televoting. A return of accompaniment by orchestra was also proposed, but ultimately did not occur.