The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest was held in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. It was the third time that Stockholm hosted the contest and the second time that it was held in the Globe Arena. The right to host the contest came when Måns Zelmerlöw brought home the trophy with his song Heroes from Vienna in 2015. Australia returned to the Eurovision Song Contest, Dami Im finished second with The Sound of Silence. Russia's Sergey Lazarev finished third with his song You Are The Only One. Ukraine's Jamala won the contest with her song 1944, providing Ukraine with its second victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Stockholm was announced as the host city in July 2015, with the Globe Arena taking the honour of being the venue for the 2016 contest. The arena previously staged the contest in 2000.
Come Together
The slogan for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest was Come Together. The theme artwork, inspired by the dandelion, symbolised the power of resistance and resilience but also of regeneration – when the seeds fly away from the dandelion new life is created where they touch down.
The Grand Final
26 countries competed in the Grand Final of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. 10 qualifiers from each of the Semi-Finals, the so-called Big Five as well as hosts Sweden all took to the stage. 2016 saw the biggest change to the voting sequence since 1975. The public and jury votes were presented separately meaning that there was double the amount of points available. In the end the Australia, Russia and Ukraine battled it out for victory. Ukraine's Jamala took the trophy with her song 1944, providing Ukraine with its second victory since 2004.
Facts and figures
- There was considerable interest in hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden with several cities bidding for the opportunity including previous host cities Malmö and Gothenburg.
- Over 204 million watched the live shows in 2016 beating the viewing figures in 2015 by 5 million
- The Grand Final was broadcast in the United States for the first time
- Global superstar Justin Timberlake performed in during the interval of the Grand Final
- For the first time ever Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina failed to qualify for the Grand Final whilst the Czech Republic qualified for the first time ever
- During the Grand Final the points from the juries and televotes were presented separately
- Germany finished last for the second year running whilst Bulgaria achieved its best ever placing in the Grand Final, 4th
- Australia won the jury vote and Russia won the televote, however Ukraine scored steadily throughout and received the most points overall
- 1944 is the first song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest to be performed in Crimean Tatar.