The Decade’s Most Worthy Eurovision Winners from Around the Continent *

*Collaborative post.

Any true Eurovision fan will know that it can be hard to predict who the winner will be, year on year. Whilst you always have the odds on who will win Eurovision 2021 to fall back on, it’s truly anyone’s game, adding to the excitement of the competition. To get you in the Eurovision spirit, let’s take a look back at some of the most worthy winners from the contest’s (more recent) past. Who knows, they may have even inspired this year’s entries, one way or another!

Austria

Artist: Conchita Wurst
Song: Rise like a Phoenix
Points: 290

In 2014, Austria landed their second ever Eurovision win, the first taking place in 1966. Conchita Wurst took to the stage as the drag persona of Thomas Neuwirth, representing gender diversity to its fullest, and took the audience by storm. Whilst the majority of onlookers were thrilled by Conchita’s strong vocals and powerful performance, there were some spectators who weren’t entirely onboard with Austria’s somewhat controversial entry. However, regardless of what the Eurovision betting odds or conservative countries had to say, Conchita won the 2014 competition, symbolising everything that we love about Eurovision – openness and togetherness. What’s more, she gave one of the strongest vocal performances that we’ve ever seen.

Finland

Artist: Lordi
Song: Hard Rock Hallelujah
Points: 292

Going further back in Eurovision history, 2006 saw this iconic heavy metal band take to the stage adorned in freakish orc-esque masks, screaming into their mics rhythmically. Lordi made a name for themselves as Finland’s one and only winning performance, finishing with an impressive total of points. In fact, they took the crown for the most points ever won until 2009, when they were surpassed by Norway’s Alexandar Rybank, who we will delve deeper into very soon! After this iconic win, over 70,000 people were said to have gathered in Helsinki to conduct a massive public karaoke session to celebrate the band’s victory.

Norway

Artist: Alexander Rybank
Song: Fairytale
Points: 387

Taking to the stage in 2009, Alexander Rybank wowed us at the Moscow-hosted event. With perfect vocals and expert violin playing, what’s not to love? With that, it’s no wonder that Alexander reigned supreme, and ended the night with a win. Having played the violin and the piano since he was five years old, composing his own music and performing alongside other acts long before he made it to Eurovision. He also won a Norwegian talent show beforehand with his very own song called Foolin. So, the talent was certainly there with this artist. Moving on from the competition, Fairytale also went on to be a gold sell out in both Norway and Finland, before going Platinum in Russia.