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The 2012 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is the furthest East that the contest had ever been held. 

Baku provided a unique setting for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. The slogan for the competition this year was Light Your Fire, which was fitting given that the event was being held in Azerbaijan, the Land of Fire.  

The United Kingdom sent its oldest ever participant, 76 year old Engelbert Humperdinck, whilst Russia was represented by the Buranovskiye Babushki who had a combined age of more than 500!

A Euphoric win for Sweden

Sweden's participant Loreen had been the main favourite ever since she appeared in the widely popular Swedish selection show, Melodifestivalen, earlier that year. Her song Euphoria took Europe by storm and Sweden won the 2012 competition by a landslide. The song went on to be a worldwide hit and reached number one in several countries selling more than two million copies. 

Facts and figures

  • 42 broadcasters took part while initially 43 had signed up. It was the Armenian broadcaster ARMTV which pulled out at the last minute.
  • The ruling champion of the contest, Eldar "Ell" Gasimov also co-hosted the shows in Baku
  • Euphoria received the highest number of 12 points of any entry in the contest's history with eighteen countries giving the song top marks.
  • Rona Nishliu took one of the highest notes in the history of the contest in her entry Suus
  • The world-famous twins, Jedward took part for the second year in a row for Ireland