 | Facts & Figures |
|---|---|
| Date | Saturday 14 May 2011 |
| Location | [flag=de]Esprit Arena Düsseldorf, Germany |
| Broadcaster | Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD) Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) |
| Hosts | Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers, Stefan Raab |
| Executive Producer | Ralf Quibeldey, Thomas Schreiber |
| EBU Scrutineer | Jon Ola Sand |
| Director | Ladislaus Kiraly |
| Opening act | Stefan Raab performing „Satellite“ with Lena Meyer-Landrut |
| Interval act | Jan Delay performing „Oh Jonny“ and „Klar“ |
| Winner | [flag=az]Ell and Nikki from Azerbaijan |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country’s victory at the 2010 contest with the song „Satellite“ by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcasters Arbeitsgemeinschaft Rundfunkanstalten Deutschland (ARD) and Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), the contest was held at the Esprit Arena and consisted of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May, and a final on 14 May 2011.[1] The three live shows were presented by German comedian Anke Engelke, television presenter Judith Rakers as well as former German contestant and songwriter Stefan Raab.
Forty-three countries participated in the contest, equalling the record of the 2008 edition. Four countries returned to the contest this year; Austria returned after their last participation in 2007, Hungary returned after their last participation in 2009, San Marino returned after their very first participation in 2008. Italy also returned to the contest after their last participation fourteen years earlier, in 1997.
The winner was Azerbaijan with the song „Running Scared“, performed by Ell and Nikki and written by Stefan Örn, Sandra Bjurman and Iain James Farquharson. This was Azerbaijan’s first victory in the contest, after only 4 years of participation. It was also the first male-female duo to win the contest since 1963. Italy, Sweden, Ukraine and Denmark rounded out the top five. Apart from Italy, the only other „Big Five“ country to make the top 10 was host nation Germany, finishing tenth. The United Kingdom followed closely behind, finishing eleventh. This was the first time since the juries were reintroduced alongside the televoting in 2009 that the winner did not place first in the jury voting; Italy was the jury winner, while Azerbaijan was the televote winner. Georgia, finishing ninth, equalled their best result from 2010.
The final took place on 14 May 2011. Only the „Big Five“ countries automatically qualified for the grand final. From the two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May 2011, twenty countries qualified for the grand final. A total of twenty-five countries competed in the grand final.The voting system used was the same as in the 2010 contest, with a combination of televotes and jury votes selecting the winner. Viewers were able to vote during the performances; the voting window ended 15 minutes after the conclusion of the songs.
Background music for the show included „Wonderful“ by Gary Go.
The Participants
| Draw | Country | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Finland | Paradise Oskar participant profile | „Da Da Dam“ | 21 | 57 |
| 02 |  Bosnia Herzegovina | Dino Merlin participant profile | „Love in Rewind“ | 6 | 125 |
| 03 |  Denmark | A Friend in London participant profile | „New Tomorrow“ | 5 | 134 |
| 04 |  Lithuania | Evelina Sašenko participant profile | „C’est ma vie“ | 19 | 63 |
| 05 |  Hungary | Kati Wolf participant profile | „What About My Dreams?“ | 22 | 53 |
| 06 |  Ireland | Jedward participant profile | „Lipstick“ | 8 | 119 |
| 07 |  Sweden | Eric Saade participant profile | „Popular“ | 3 | 185 |
| 08 |  Estonia | Getter Jaani participant profile | „Rockefeller Street“ | 24 | 44 |
| 09 |  Greece | Loukas Yorkas ft. Stereo Mike participant profile | „Watch My Dance“ | 7 | 120 |
| 10 |  Russia | Alexey Vorobyov participant profile | „Get You“ | 16 | 77 |
| 11 |  France | Amaury Vassili participant profile | „Sognu“ | 15 | 82 |
| 12 |  Italy | Raphael Gualazzi participant profile | „Madness of Love“ | 2 | 189 |
| 13 |  Switzerland | Anna Rossinelli participant profile | „In Love for a While“ | 25 | 19 |
| 14 |  United Kingdom | Blue participant profile | „I Can“ | 11 | 100 |
| 15 |  Moldova | Zdob și Zdub participant profile | „So Lucky“ | 12 | 97 |
| 16 |  Germany | Lena participant profile | „Taken by a Stranger“ | 10 | 107 |
| 17 |  Romania | Hotel FM participant profile | „Change“ | 17 | 77 |
| 18 |  Austria | Nadine Beiler participant profile | „The Secret Is Love“ | 18 | 64 |
| 19 |  Azerbaijan | Ell and Nikki participant profile | „Running Scared“ | 1 | 221 |
| 20 |  Slovenia | Maja Keuc participant profile | „No One“ | 13 | 96 |
| 21 |  Iceland | Sjonni’s Friends participant profile | „Coming Home“ | 20 | 61 |
| 22 |  Spain | Lucía Pérez participant profile | „Que me quiten lo bailao“ | 23 | 50 |
| 23 |  Ukraine | Mika Newton participant profile | „Angel“ | 4 | 159 |
| 24 |  Serbia | Nina participant profile | „Čaroban“ (Чаробан) | 14 | 85 |
| 25 |  Georgia | Eldrine participant profile | „One More Day“ | 9 | 110 |