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Russia scoops Eurovision victory | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Russian singer Dima Bilan has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest in the Serbian capital Belgrade. | |
Bilan's heartfelt ballad Believe, produced by US R&B star Timbaland, gave Russia its first ever Eurovision win. | |
Ukraine's Ani Lorak came second, followed by Greece with upbeat pop song Secret Combination by Kalomira. | |
But British talent show runner-up Andy Abraham came joint last with his song Even If, gaining just 14 points, the same as Germany and Poland. | |
Before the voting, Terry Wogan, who is commentating for the BBC, said Abraham was "our best entry for years", adding: "He deserves to do well with that." | |
British talent show finalist Andy Abraham sang his entry Even IfBut the former X Factor contestant only received points from San Marino - who took part for the first time - and Ireland. | |
Dimar Bilan won with a stage show that included Olympic figure skating champion Evgeni Plushenko performing on a small ice circle. | |
The other entrants included Latvian pirates, a Finnish heavy rock group, a 75-year-old Croatian rapper and French dance musician Sebastian Tellier, who has worked with Daft Punk and Air. | |
Swedish singer Charlotte Perrelli, who won the event in 1999, was another hot tip and was picked as the winner in a Europe-wide BBC poll before the event. | |
But she failed to become the first female singer to win the contest twice. | |
The show was opened in front of 20,000 fans at the Belgrade Arena by last year's winner Marija Serifovic. | |
The 20 countries that came through the semi-finals joined hosts Serbia plus the UK, France, Germany and Spain - the contest's four biggest backers. | The 20 countries that came through the semi-finals joined hosts Serbia plus the UK, France, Germany and Spain - the contest's four biggest backers. |