Greece
wins Eurovision song contest in Ukraine
KIEV
(Reuters) - Greece won the 50th Eurovision song contest Saturday, with
Helena Paparizou's fast-moving "My Number One" beating 23 other
competitors.
Paparizou,
who finished third in Eurovision in 2001, scored 230 points in telephone
voting from viewers in 39 countries for a performance relying heavily on
Greek folk music.
Finishing
far behind in second place was Malta's Chiara, who sang "Angel,"
perhaps the most traditional of all the performances with a minimum of
glitter.
Romania's
Luminita Anghel and her group Sistem, singing "Let me Try" with
a variety of steel drums on stage, was third.
Ukraine,
last year's winner, hosted the contest in what was widely seen as a means
to showcase the country after last year's "Orange Revolution"
protests.
Hundreds
of thousands watched the contest on screens erected in Independence
Square, focal point of last year's rallies.
The
contest has in recent years attracted far more attention in post-communist
eastern Europe than in the West, where the performers and their songs are
treated with a degree of disdain.
"I
am so happy that this finally came to Greece," Paparizou, an ethnic
Greek raised in Sweden, told reporters.
A
hot favorite before the contest, she paid tribute to last year's Ukrainian
winner, Ruslana, whose frenetic "Wild Dances" was similar in
using folk themes.
"Ruslana
was an inspiration for other countries to do more traditional
things," said Parizou, sporting a revealing short dress like
virtually all the female competitors.
President
Viktor Yushchenko, who has pledged to take Ukraine closer to Europe after
winning last year's bruising election, took to the stage to present an
additional prize, a golden fern.
"This
is a Ukrainian prize for the best European performer in favor of uniting
Europe," the president said, embracing Paparizou on both cheeks.
Some
120 million viewers tuned in to the broadcast, little different from past
editions of varying talent, trite lyrics and flamboyant performances.
Several
entries used folk melodies, notably Turkey, winner two years ago, Hungary,
Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro.
Moldova,
an outsider finishing close to the leaders, underscored folk music with a
smiling elderly woman in traditional dress beating a drum.
Ukraine
sang a modified version of the tune which inspired last year's election
protesters, but finished far back.
Grappling
with a lack of hotel rooms and patchy post-Soviet tourism facilities,
authorities scrubbed Kiev down and closed off the main street for days to
create a carnival atmosphere.
Many
had hoped the contest would help change Ukraine's image after years of
association with political scandals, corruption and the effects of the
1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
