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| Emotional night for Eurovision fans |
| Written by Administrator | |
| Sunday, 25 May 2008 | |
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An Olympic figure ice skater, a violinist and a pop star helped Russia walk away the winners of this year's Eurovision Song Contest. As the points came thick and fast, Greece and Russia very quickly became the front-runners. But it was Dima Bilan's ballad Believe which eventually took the lead and remained top of the scoreboard. "I thought it was a boring song. I would rather have had Ukraine or Armenia win," said Alexaudra Marij from Sweden who was at the live final in Belgrade, Serbia. She was not alone feeling that way. Seweryn Hsias, from Poland, has been a life-long fan of the competition but has vowed to turn his back on it from now on. "I hate Eurovision from this moment. It doesn't make any sense anymore. I was a big fan all my life, but now I'm hating it," he says. Dean Asker, 37, from the United Kingdom, agrees. "I think Russia had a mediocre song. It's the same old story." He blames the political voting which becomes an issue year after year. "I think the big four countries need to pull out and say 'let's have our own contest just with the Western countries'. With these eastern countries you just know where they're going to put their votes." 'So sexy' Despite that, Bilan, who came second in the 2006 competition, had a huge army of fans in the arena who afterwards would not hear a bad word said against him. "We are so happy that we are winners. It's great, it's fantastic. I don't think I will sleep," says 28-year-old Russian manager Kim Anastassia. "Dima is a big star, and we truly love him because of his voice and because of his style," she adds. As he was announced the winner, groups of Russian supporters dotted around the stadium could be seen jumping around, speaking on the phone to friends and throwing their flags up into the air. Previously dubbed Russia's version of Justin Timberlake by a veteran Eurovision fan, it is the women that seem to have fallen for more than just his performance. Liza Yakovleva, a 24-year-old lawyer from Russia, admits she finds the star attractive. "He is so sexy I just love him. I'm just so happy for him," she says. Impromptu song During Friday's dress rehearsal a small group of Serbian workers from the venue snuck in just to watch him sing and sat there looking starry-eyed as he removed his shirt (something he chose not to do in the final). Russian journalist Vasily Koivkov was screaming so much for his idol he almost lost his voice. "It was our dream - we believed in it. And Dima believed in it and we won," he says. After the show hundreds of journalists and photographers crammed into the press conference to hear the first words of Bilan. He appeared on stage to rapturous applause and explained he would be talking in his native language so he could express himself properly. When asked how he was feeling, he says: "I can't understand my emotion at the moment. I am crying, and yet I am so happy. I just want to say thank you, thank you." Later he treated his smaller audience to an impromptu song. He even had some fans from the UK, including Judith Mullineux, who admits she has made a bit of money from him after backing the star right from the beginning. When asked why she loves the song so much she says: "I love it because it's about believing in Eurovision and if you believe in Eurovision you will win Eurovision." She did not even consider backing the UK's entry Andy Abraham - which came last - because she says it was "a weak song". 'Once bitten' The former bin man, who found fame after appearing on the ITV talent show The X Factor, performed Even If, a song he wrote himself. Despite scraping 14 points from San Marino and Ireland he remains upbeat and refuses to blame his second place slot for his failure. "The performance was as good as we could have done it. The feeling was great. The people in the audience loved it," he says. When asked if he thought he had fallen victim of the political voting he says he is a "musician not a politician". Continuing with the subject, however, he adds: "It's very easy to pick a country that's going to give another country 12 points. "It's sad, it's really, really sad. "It was all talked about beforehand and I decided that I was going to dismiss it but it's very difficult to dismiss something that's right in your face." When asked if he would do it again he says: "Probably not, unless the situation changes. Once bitten twice shy." Source |
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