Eurovision Song Contest 2017

International song competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and a final on 13 May 2017, held at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine, and presented by Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk, and Timur Miroshnychenko. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC), which staged the event after its legal predecessor, the National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), had won the 2016 contest for Ukraine with the song "1944" by Jamala. It was the first contest since the inaugural 1956 edition without a female host.

Semi-final 1
  • 9 May 2017 (2017-05-09)
Semi-final 2
  • 11 May 2017 (2017-05-11)
Final
  • 13 May 2017 (2017-05-13)
VenueInternational Exhibition Centre
Kyiv, Ukraine
Quick facts Dates and venue, Semi-final 1 ...
Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Celebrate Diversity
Dates and venue
Semi-final 1
  • 9 May 2017 (2017-05-09)
Semi-final 2
  • 11 May 2017 (2017-05-11)
Final
  • 13 May 2017 (2017-05-13)
VenueInternational Exhibition Centre
Kyiv, Ukraine
Organisation
OrganiserEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU)
Executive supervisorJon Ola Sand
Production
Host broadcaster
Directors
  • Troels Lund
  • Alexander Kolb
  • Ladislaus Kiraly
Executive producerPavlo Grytsak
Presenters
Participants
Number of entries42
Number of finalists26
Returning countries Portugal
 Romania
Non-returning countries Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Russia
  • A coloured map of the countries of Europe
         Finalist countries     Countries eliminated in the semi-finals     Countries that participated in the past but not in 2017
Vote
Voting systemEach country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to ten songs.
Winning song Portugal
"Amar pelos dois"
2016 ← Eurovision Song Contest → 2018
Event page at eurovision.com Edit this at Wikidata
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Broadcasters from forty-two countries participated in the contest. Portugal and Romania returned to the contest after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina did not participate on financial grounds. Russia had originally planned to participate, but later withdrew after its representative, Julia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of having travelled directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law.

The winner was Portugal with the song "Amar pelos dois", performed by Salvador Sobral and written by his sister Luísa Sobral. The song won both the jury vote and televote, and Bulgaria, Moldova, Belgium, and Sweden rounded out the top five. This was Portugal's first victory in 53 years of participation, the longest wait for victory by any participating country in Eurovision history. It was also the first winning song entirely performed in a country's native language since "Molitva" for Serbia in 2007. The top three countries – Portugal, Bulgaria and Moldova – all achieved their highest placings in their Eurovision history, while host country Ukraine received its worst placing to date, finishing 24th in the final.

The EBU reported that 182 million viewers watched the contest, 22 million fewer than the 2016 record.

Location

International Exhibition Centre, Kyiv - host venue of the 2017 contest

Venue

The contest took place in the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv, following Ukraine's victory at the 2016 contest with the song "1944", written and performed by Jamala. The International Exhibition Centre has a capacity of approximately 11,000 attendees and is the largest exhibition centre in Kyiv.[1] Located in the western part of the Livoberezhna microdistrict, the centre was opened in October 2002, and its head since its construction was Anatoly Tkachenko.[1]

Bidding phase

Locations of the candidate cities: the chosen host city is marked in blue. The shortlisted cities are marked in green, while the eliminated cities are marked in red.

The Deputy Chief of host broadcaster Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine (UA:PBC) and Head of Delegation for Ukraine, Viktoria Romanova, stated on 18 May 2016 that the first organisational meeting for the contest would take place before 8 June, during which the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and UA:PBC would go through the technical requirements for the contest, as well as any training required for the contest to take place in Ukraine. Romanova also announced that the venue for the contest would be announced over the summer.[2][3][4]

UA:PBC and the Ukrainian Government formally launched the bidding process for interested cities to apply to host the contest on 23 June.[5][6] The selection of the host city was scheduled to be conducted in four stages:

  • 24 June – 8 July: Interested cities were formally invited to submit their bids.
  • 8–15 July: A working group within UA:PBC and a government-appointed Local Organisational Committee (LOC) headed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman reviewed submitted bids prior to their formal presentation.
  • 18–22 July: Candidate cities formally presented their bids to the LOC. The bids of three cities were shortlisted and handed over to the EBU.
  • 22 July – 1 August: The three shortlisted cities were inspected by representatives from the EBU and LOC to explore their infrastructure and implementation of their bids. A press conference was initially planned to be held during this period to announce the selection results and the host city.

The following criteria were outlined for the selection of the host city:[7]

  • The venue must be covered with a capacity of at least 7,000 but ideally up to 10,000 attendees.
  • An international press centre must be able to accommodate no less than 1,550 journalists.
  • Venues must also be provided for the opening and closing ceremonies of at least 3,000 attendees.
  • The host city must have fairly priced hotel rooms to European standards, that are located in close proximity to the venue and the city centre. At least 2,000 hotel rooms must be provided: 1,000 for participating delegations and 1,000 for accredited media and fans.
  • The host city must be able to guarantee the safety and security of participants, members of delegations and guests.
  • The host city must have modern transport infrastructure: an international airport and readily available transport between the airport, the city and hotels, in addition to convenient traffic in the city and the opportunity to provide additional transport routes.
  • The host city must provide a social program alongside their bid, showcasing the hospitality, originality, cultural values and identity of both the city and Ukraine.

Six cities submitted applications by the deadline of 8 July: Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Lviv and Odesa.[8] Prior to the opening of the bidding process, the cities of Cherkasy, Irpin, Uzhhorod and Vinnytsia had declared their interest in hosting the contest, but did not submit a formal bid.[9][10] Ukrainian Culture Minister Yevhen Nyshchuk stated on 30 June that an appropriate venue for the contest does not exist in Ukraine, suggesting that the construction of a new venue in Kyiv or Lviv should be considered.[11]

The six candidate cities were officially presented to the LOC on 20 July in a two-hour live discussion show titled City Battle, broadcast from the UA:Pershyi studios in Kyiv and moderated by Timur Miroshnychenko, with radio commentary from Olena Zelinchenko. The show was broadcast on UA:Pershyi, Radio Ukraine and the UA:Pershyi YouTube channel with commentary in English and Ukrainian. During the show, a representative from each candidate city presented its bid in front of a live studio audience:[12]

  • Dnipro: Borys Filatov (City Mayor)
  • Kharkiv: Ihor Terekhov (Deputy City Mayor)
  • Kherson: Volodymyr Mykolaienko (City Mayor)
  • Kyiv: Oleksii Reznikov (Deputy Head of City State Administration)
  • Lviv: Andrii Moskalenko (Deputy City Mayor)
  • Odesa: Pavlo Vugelman (Deputy City Mayor)

Members of the LOC, media representatives, Ukrainian musical experts and fans also participated in the discussion.

Host selection

UA:PBC announced on 22 July that the bids from Dnipro, Kyiv and Odesa had been shortlisted for further consideration.[13]

The EBU announced on 30 July that the host city would be announced "in due course", rather than on the previously stated date of 1 August, with Executive Supervisor of the contest Jon Ola Sand stating that the EBU "really want to take the time it takes to come up with the right decision".[14] The Deputy General Director of UA:PBC, Oleksandr Kharebin, stated on 10 August that the host city would be announced on Ukrainian Independence Day, 24 August.[15] The announcement was later scheduled to take place on 25 August; however, it was postponed at 14:00 EEST, one hour before it was due to take place, with NTU citing the need to further consider some fine details regarding the decision.[16]

After several delays in announcing the host city, UA:PBC announced on 8 September that they would be meeting with the Ukrainian Government and the LOC on 9 September and that a press conference to announce the host city was scheduled to take place at 13:00 EEST on the same day from the Government Press Centre in Kyiv. Kyiv was announced as the host city for the contest with the International Exhibition Centre selected as the venue.[17][18]

Key  †  Host venue  ‡  Shortlisted

More information City, Venue ...
City[19] Venue Notes
Dnipro DniproEuroArena ‡ Proposal included the complete reconstruction of the Meteor Stadium and Sports Complex Meteor, which would have been completed by March 2017.[20] Withdrew after the host city announcement being postponed for a fourth time.
Kharkiv Metalist Oblast Sports Complex Hosted three group stage matches of UEFA Euro 2012 & EAMV Recording Label. Would have required significant construction including the addition of a roof.[21]
Kherson "Yuvileinyi" Concert Hall Proposal included expansion and reconstruction of the venue, which would have taken approximately 7–8 months.[22]
Kyiv
Palace of Sports ‡ Hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 and the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2009. May have conflicted with contest preparations as the venue hosted part of the 2017 IIHF World Championship Division I ice hockey tournament between 22 and 28 April 2017.[23]
International Exhibition Centre † Venue was initially submitted as a reserve.[24][25] Kyiv later announced on 24 August 2016 that this was their preferred venue for staging the contest.[26]
Lviv Arena Lviv Hosted three of the group-stage games for UEFA Euro 2012. The arena required the construction of a roof.[27]
Unfinished venue An unfinished venue originally planned for EuroBasket 2015 that was 25% complete when construction halted.[27]
Odesa Chornomorets Stadium ‡ Proposal included plans for reconstruction of the venue and options for providing a covered roof.[28][29]
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Other sites

Location of host venue (red) and other contest-related sites and events (blue)

The Eurovision Village was the official Eurovision Song Contest fan and sponsors' area during the events week. There it was possible to watch performances by local artists, as well as the live shows broadcast from the main venue. Located at Independence Square in Kyiv, it was open from 4 to 14 May 2017.[30][31]

The EuroClub was the venue for the official after-parties and private performances by contest participants. Unlike the Eurovision Village, access to the EuroClub was restricted to accredited fans, delegates, and press. It was located at the Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center.[32]

The "Red Carpet" event, where the contestants and their delegations are presented before the accredited press and fans, took place at Mariinskyi Palace in central Kyiv on 7 May 2017 at 19:00 CEST, followed by the Opening Ceremony at the Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center.[33][34]

Participants

Further information: List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest
Quick facts – Participation summaries by country ...
Eurovision Song Contest 2017 – Participation summaries by country
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Eligibility for potential participation in the Eurovision Song Contest requires a national broadcaster with active EBU membership capable of receiving the contest via the Eurovision network and broadcasting it live nationwide.[35] The EBU issued an invitation to participate in the contest to all active members and associate member Australia.[36]

Initially, on 31 October 2016, it was announced that forty-three countries were to participate in the contest, equalling the record set in 2008 and 2011. Portugal and Romania returned after a year's absence, while Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew on financial grounds.[36] Russia had planned to participate but announced their withdrawal on 13 April 2017, after their representative, Julia Samoylova, was banned from entering Ukraine by virtue of travelling directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, to give a performance, which is illegal under Ukrainian law. This subsequently reduced the number of participating countries to forty-two, the same number of countries as 2016.[37][38]

More information Country, Broadcaster ...
Eurovision Song Contest 2017 participants[39]
Country Broadcaster Artist Song Language Songwriter(s)
 Albania RTSH Lindita "World" English
 Armenia AMPTV Artsvik "Fly with Me" English
 Australia SBS Isaiah "Don't Come Easy" English
 Austria ORF Nathan Trent "Running on Air" English
 Azerbaijan İTV Dihaj "Skeletons" English
 Belarus BTRC Naviband "Story of My Life" Belarusian Arciom Lukjanienka
 Belgium RTBF Blanche "City Lights" English
 Bulgaria BNT Kristian Kostov "Beautiful Mess" English
 Croatia HRT Jacques Houdek "My Friend" English, Italian
  • Jacques Houdek
  • Arjana Kunštek
  • Fabrizio Laucella
  • Tony Malm
  • Ines Prajo
  • Siniša Reljić
 Cyprus CyBC Hovig "Gravity" English Thomas G:son
 Czech Republic ČT Martina Bárta "My Turn" English
  • DWB
  • Kyler Niko
 Denmark DR Anja "Where I Am" English
 Estonia ERR Koit Toome and Laura "Verona" English Sven Lõhmus
 Finland Yle Norma John "Blackbird" English
  • Lasse Piirainen
  • Leena Tirronen
 France France Télévisions Alma "Requiem" French, English
 Georgia GPB Tamara Gachechiladze "Keep the Faith" English
 Germany NDR[a] Levina "Perfect Life" English
 Greece ERT Demy "This Is Love" English
 Hungary MTVA Joci Pápai "Origo" Hungarian József Pápai
 Iceland RÚV Svala "Paper" English
 Ireland RTÉ Brendan Murray "Dying to Try" English
 Israel IBA Imri "I Feel Alive" English
 Italy RAI Francesco Gabbani "Occidentali's Karma" Italian
 Latvia LTV Triana Park "Line" English
 Lithuania LRT Fusedmarc "Rain of Revolution" English
 Macedonia MRT Jana Burčeska "Dance Alone" English
  • Florence A.
  • Johan Alkenäs
  • Borislav Milanov
  • Joacim Persson
 Malta PBS Claudia Faniello "Breathlessly" English
 Moldova TRM SunStroke Project "Hey Mamma" English
  • Mihail Cebotarenco
  • Alina Galetskaya
  • Anton Ragoza
  • Sergey Stepanov
  • Sergei Yalovitsky
 Montenegro RTCG Slavko Kalezić "Space" English
  • Iva Boršić
  • Adis Eminić
  • Momčilo Zeković "Zeko"
 Netherlands AVROTROS Ogene "Lights and Shadows" English
  • Rory de Kievit
  • Rick Vol
 Norway NRK Jowst[b] "Grab the Moment" English
 Poland TVP Kasia Moś "Flashlight" English
 Portugal RTP Salvador Sobral "Amar pelos dois" Portuguese Luísa Sobral
 Romania TVR Ilinca feat. Alex Florea "Yodel It!" English
  • Mihai Alexandru
  • Alexa Niculae
 San Marino SMRTV Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson "Spirit of the Night" English
 Serbia RTS Tijana Bogićević "In Too Deep" English
  • Johan Alkenäs
  • Lisa Desmond
  • Borislav Milanov
  • Joacim Persson
 Slovenia RTVSLO Omar Naber "On My Way" English
 Spain RTVE Manel Navarro "Do It for Your Lover" Spanish, English
 Sweden SVT Robin Bengtsson "I Can't Go On" English
  Switzerland SRG SSR Timebelle "Apollo" English
  • Alessandra Günthardt
  • Nicolas Günthardt
  • Elias Näslin
 Ukraine UA:PBC O.Torvald "Time" English
  • Zhenia Galych
  • Yevhen Kamenchuk
  • Denys Myzyuk
 United Kingdom BBC Lucie Jones "Never Give Up on You" English
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Returning artists

The contest featured five representatives who also previously performed as lead vocalists for the same countries. Valentina Monetta, who performed in a duet this time, represented San Marino in three consecutive editions: 2012, 2013, and 2014. The duo of Koit Toome and Laura Põldvere have both represented Estonia in different years: Toome in 1998 as a solo artist, finishing 12th place with the song "Mere lapsed", and Põldvere in 2005 as part of Suntribe, finishing 20th in the semi-final with the song "Let's Get Loud". Omar Naber represented Slovenia in 2005, finishing 12th in the semi-final with the song "Stop".[41] This also made for one of the only occasions in which the same participants not only returned after originally competing in the same year, but also had both participations occur in the same host country (the only other recent example being 1982, which saw both Norway's Anita Skorgan and Belgium's Stella Maessen return to the United Kingdom for the second time after the 1977 contest). SunStroke Project represented Moldova in 2010 alongside Olia Tira, finishing 22nd with the song "Run Away".[42]

The contest also featured the group Ogene which previously represented the Netherlands at another Eurovision event, the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, as Lisa, Amy and Shelley, with the song "Adem in, adem uit".[43] In addition, the contest featured two lead singers previously participating as backing vocalists for the same countries: Israel's representative Imri Ziv who backed Nadav Guedj in 2015 and Hovi Star in 2016,[44] and Serbia's representative Tijana Bogićević who backed Nina in 2011.

Other countries

Active EBU members

See also: § Russian withdrawal

Active EBU member broadcasters in Andorra, Luxembourg, Monaco and Slovakia confirmed non-participation prior to the announcement of the participants list by the EBU.[45][46][47][48][49][50][51] BHRT, broadcaster for Bosnia and Herzegovina, did the same due to financial difficulties[52] and non-payment of debts to the EBU totalling 6 million Swiss francs (€5.4 million); the EBU had already threatened to withdraw BHRT from all member services in May 2016, and in late 2016 they began to impose sanctions on the broadcaster for their pending debts.[53][54][55][56] Despite initially stating their participation in the contest[57] and efforts from non-governmental organizations aimed at their return in 2017,[58] Turkish broadcaster TRT ultimately opted not to participate.[59][60]

Associate EBU members

Kazakh broadcaster Khabar Agency became an associate member of the EBU on 1 January 2016, opening up the possibility of their participation in 2017;[61][62] however, Kazakhstan was not on the final list of participating countries announced by the EBU on 31 October 2016.[63]

Non-EBU members

In 2016, Kosovan broadcaster RTK was invited to the Eurovision Committee to discuss the possibility of being accepted in the EBU in order to take part in the contest;[64][65][66] however, Kosovo did not appear on the final list of participants. Liechtensteiner broadcaster 1 FL TV announced that they would not debut at the contest in 2017, but that they intended to obtain EBU membership in order to debut in a future contest, on receipt of financial support from the government.[67]

Format

The preliminary dates for the contest were announced on 14 March 2016 at a meeting of Heads of Delegation in Stockholm, with the semi-finals expected to take place on 16 and 18 May and the final on 20 May 2017. These preliminary dates were chosen by the EBU to avoid the contest coinciding with any major television and sporting events scheduled to take place around that time.[68] However, the EBU announced on 24 June 2016 that the preliminary dates for the contest had to be brought forward a week, with the semi-finals scheduled for 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May.[5] This was due to a request from UA:PBC, as the initial preliminary dates coincided with the remembrance day for the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars on 18 May.[69][70] However, despite attempts to avoid conflicts, the eventual dates coincided with the second leg of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League semi-finals.[70]

In December 2016, Pavlo Hrytsak was appointed as the new head of the organising committee. In February 2017, 21 team members resigned, claiming that Hrytsak's appointment effectively stopped work on the contest for two months.[71][72]

Semi-final allocation draw

Results of the semi-final allocation draw
  Participating countries in the first semi-final
  Pre-qualified for the final but also voting in the first semi-final
  Participating countries in the second semi-final[c]
  Pre-qualified for the final but also voting in the second semi-final

The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place at Column Hall on 31 January 2017, hosted by Timur Miroshnychenko and Nika Konstantinova. The thirty-seven semi-finalists had been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called "bloc voting" and increase suspense in the semi-finals.[73]

More information Pot 1, Pot 2 ...
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5 Pot 6
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Visual design

The theme of the contest, "Celebrate Diversity", was unveiled on 30 January 2017, with its visual design featuring imagery of stylized beads. The main logo used the beads to form a traditional Ukrainian neck amulet.[74][75]

Presenters

The hosts on the red carpet

The EBU announced on 27 February that the presenters for the contest would be Oleksandr Skichko, Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko, with Miroshnychenko also hosting the green room.[76] It was the first time that the contest was presented by a male trio,[76] and the second time that the contest did not feature a female presenter, after 1956. Miroshnychenko has previously co-hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 and 2013.[77][78]

Promotional emojis

It was announced on 30 April that the creative teams from both the Eurovision network and Twitter had worked together to create three emoji that would accompany specific promotional hashtags for the duration of the contest. The heart emoji would appear alongside #ESC2017 and #Eurovision, while the winners' trophy emoji would be used for #12Points and #douzepoints. The final emoji is the logo for the contest, which would appear alongside #CelebrateDiversity, the slogan of the contest.[79]

Opening and interval acts

The EBU released details regarding the opening and interval acts for each of the live shows on 20 April.[80] The first semi-final was opened by Monatik performing "Spinning", while the interval featured Jamala performing a new version of her winning song "1944" and "Zamanyly".[80] The second semi-final was opened by a medley of past Eurovision songs performed by co-presenters Oleksandr Skichko and Volodymyr Ostapchuk, while the interval featured a dance performance by Apache Crew titled "The Children's Courtyard". In the interval of the final, Jamala performed her new single "I Believe in U",[80] and Onuka performed a megamix together with Ukraine's National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments.[81]

Contest overview

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 9 May 2017 at 22:00 EEST (21:00 CEST). 18 countries participated in the first semi-final. All the countries competing in this semi-final were eligible to vote, plus Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.[82] The highlighted countries qualified for the final.[83]

  Qualifiers
More information R/O, Country ...
Results of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017[84][85]
R/O Country Artist Song Points Place
1  Sweden Robin Bengtsson "I Can't Go On" 227 3
2  Georgia Tamara Gachechiladze "Keep the Faith" 99 11
3  Australia Isaiah "Don't Come Easy" 160 6
4  Albania Lindita "World" 76 14
5  Belgium Blanche "City Lights" 165 4
6  Montenegro Slavko Kalezić "Space" 56 16
7  Finland Norma John "Blackbird" 92 12
8  Azerbaijan Dihaj "Skeletons" 150 8
9  Portugal Salvador Sobral "Amar pelos dois" 370 1
10  Greece Demy "This Is Love" 115 10
11  Poland Kasia Moś "Flashlight" 119 9
12  Moldova SunStroke Project "Hey Mamma" 291 2
13  Iceland Svala "Paper" 60 15
14  Czech Republic Martina Bárta "My Turn" 83 13
15  Cyprus Hovig "Gravity" 164 5
16  Armenia Artsvik "Fly with Me" 152 7
17  Slovenia Omar Naber "On My Way" 36 17
18  Latvia Triana Park "Line" 21 18
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Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 11 May 2017 at 22:00 EEST (21:00 CEST). 18 countries participated in the second semi-final. All the countries competing in this semi-final were eligible to vote, plus France, Germany and Ukraine voted in this semi-final.[82] Russia was originally set to perform in position three, but later withdrew from the contest after the artist it selected was banned from entering Ukraine, resulting in countries originally planned to perform fourth and later, to do so one place earlier.[37] The highlighted countries qualified for the final.[86]

  Qualifiers
More information R/O, Country ...
Results of the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017[87][85]
R/O Country Artist Song Points Place
1  Serbia Tijana Bogićević "In Too Deep" 98 11
2  Austria Nathan Trent "Running on Air" 147 7
3  Macedonia Jana Burčeska "Dance Alone" 69 15
4  Malta Claudia Faniello "Breathlessly" 55 16
5  Romania Ilinca feat. Alex Florea "Yodel It!" 174 6
6  Netherlands Ogene "Lights and Shadows" 200 4
7  Hungary Joci Pápai "Origo" 231 2
8  Denmark Anja "Where I Am" 101 10
9  Ireland Brendan Murray "Dying to Try" 86 13
10  San Marino Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson "Spirit of the Night" 1 18
11  Croatia Jacques Houdek "My Friend" 141 8
12  Norway Jowst[b] "Grab the Moment" 189 5
13   Switzerland Timebelle "Apollo" 97 12
14  Belarus Naviband "Story of My Life" 110 9
15  Bulgaria Kristian Kostov "Beautiful Mess" 403 1
16  Lithuania Fusedmarc "Rain of Revolution" 42 17
17  Estonia Koit Toome and Laura "Verona" 85 14
18  Israel Imri "I Feel Alive" 207 3
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Final

The final took place on 13 May 2017 at 22:00 EEST (21:00 CEST). The "Big Five", and the host country, Ukraine, qualified directly for the final. From the two semi-finals on 9 and 13 May 2017, twenty countries qualified for the final.

26 countries participated in the final, with all 42 participating countries eligible to vote. The running order for the final was revealed after the second semi-final qualifiers' press conference on 11 May.[88]

Portugal won with 758 points, winning both the jury vote and the televote. Bulgaria came second with 615 points, with Moldova, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Australia and Norway completing the top ten. Poland, Israel, Ukraine, Germany and Spain occupied the bottom five positions.

  Winner
More information R/O, Country ...
Results of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017[89][88]
R/O Country Artist Song Points Place
1  Israel Imri "I Feel Alive" 39 23
2  Poland Kasia Moś "Flashlight" 64 22
3  Belarus Naviband "Story of My Life" 83 17
4  Austria Nathan Trent "Running on Air" 93 16
5  Armenia Artsvik "Fly with Me" 79 18
6  Netherlands Ogene "Lights and Shadows" 150 11
7  Moldova SunStroke Project "Hey Mamma" 374 3
8  Hungary Joci Pápai "Origo" 200 8
9  Italy Francesco Gabbani "Occidentali's Karma" 334 6
10  Denmark Anja "Where I Am" 77 20
11  Portugal Salvador Sobral "Amar pelos dois" 758 1
12  Azerbaijan Dihaj "Skeletons" 120 14
13  Croatia Jacques Houdek "My Friend" 128 13
14  Australia Isaiah "Don't Come Easy" 173 9
15  Greece Demy "This Is Love" 77 19
16  Spain Manel Navarro "Do It for Your Lover" 5 26
17  Norway Jowst[b] "Grab the Moment" 158 10
18  United Kingdom Lucie Jones "Never Give Up on You" 111 15
19  Cyprus Hovig "Gravity" 68 21
20  Romania Ilinca feat. Alex Florea "Yodel It!" 282 7
21  Germany Levina "Perfect Life" 6 25
22  Ukraine O.Torvald "Time" 36 24
23  Belgium Blanche "City Lights" 363 4
24  Sweden Robin Bengtsson "I Can't Go On" 344 5
25  Bulgaria Kristian Kostov "Beautiful Mess" 615 2
26  France Alma "Requiem" 135 12
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Spokespersons

The spokespersons announced the 12-point score from their respective country's national jury in the following order:[90]

  1.  Sweden – Wiktoria
  2.  Azerbaijan – Tural Asadov
  3.  San Marino – Lia Fiorio
  4.  Latvia – Aminata
  5.  Israel – Ofer Nachshon
  6.  Montenegro – Tijana Mišković
  7.  Albania – Andri Xhahu
  8.  Malta – Martha Fenech
  9.  Macedonia – Ilija Grujoski
  10.  Denmark – Ulla Essendrop
  11.  Austria – Kristina Inhof
  12.  Norway – Marcus & Martinus
  13.  Spain – Nieves Álvarez
  14.  Finland – Jenni Vartiainen
  15.  France – Élodie Gossuin
  16.  Greece – Constantinos Christoforou
  17.  Lithuania – Eglė Daugėlaitė
  18.  Estonia – Jüri Pootsmann
  19.  Moldova – Gloria Gorceag
  20.  Armenia – Iveta Mukuchyan
  21.  Bulgaria – Boryana Gramatikova [bg]
  22.  Iceland – Bo Halldórsson
  23.  Serbia – Sanja Vučić
  24.  Australia – Lee Lin Chin
  25.  Italy – Giulia Valentina Palermo
  26.  Germany – Barbara Schöneberger
  27.  Portugal – Filomena Cautela
  28.   Switzerland – Luca Hänni
  29.  Netherlands – Douwe Bob
  30.  Ireland – Nicky Byrne
  31.  Georgia – Nika Kocharov
  32.  Cyprus – Giannis Karagiannis
  33.  Belarus – Alyona Lanskaya
  34.  Romania – Sonia Argint-Ionescu
  35.  Hungary – Csilla Tatár
  36.  Slovenia – Katarina Čas
  37.  Belgium – Fanny Gillard [fr]
  38.  Poland – Anna Popek [pl]
  39.  United Kingdom – Katrina Leskanich
  40.  Croatia – Uršula Tolj
  41.  Czech Republic – Radka Rosická [cs]
  42.  Ukraine – Zlata Ognevich

Detailed voting results

Semi-final 1

  Qualifiers
More information Place, Combined results ...
Split results of semi-final 1
Place Combined results Jury Televoting
Country Points Country Points Country Points
1  Portugal 370  Portugal 173  Portugal 197
2  Moldova 291  Australia 139  Moldova 180
3  Sweden 227  Sweden 124  Belgium 125
4  Belgium 165  Moldova 111  Sweden 103
5  Cyprus 164  Azerbaijan 87  Cyprus 103
6  Australia 160  Armenia 87  Poland 69
7  Armenia 152  Czech Republic 81  Armenia 65
8  Azerbaijan 150  Georgia 62  Azerbaijan 63
9  Poland 119  Greece 61  Greece 54
10  Greece 115  Cyprus 61  Finland 51
11  Georgia 99  Poland 50  Montenegro 39
12  Finland 92  Finland 41  Albania 38
13  Czech Republic 83  Belgium 40  Georgia 37
14  Albania 76  Albania 38  Iceland 31
15  Iceland 60  Iceland 29  Australia 21
16  Montenegro 56  Montenegro 17  Slovenia 20
17  Slovenia 36  Slovenia 16  Latvia 20
18  Latvia 21  Latvia 1  Czech Republic 2
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed jury voting results of semi-final 1[91]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Jury vote
Sweden
Georgia
Australia
Albania
Belgium
Montenegro
Finland
Azerbaijan
Portugal
Greece
Poland
Moldova
Iceland
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Armenia
Slovenia
Latvia
Italy
Spain
United Kingdom
Contestants
 Sweden 227 124 103 88412612524881085721032
Georgia 99 62 37 613363410576521
Australia 160 139 21 1265103876861012711210187
Albania 76 38 38 1010108
Belgium 165 40 125 331723325524
Montenegro 56 17 39 872
Finland 92 41 51 777133166
Azerbaijan 150 87 63 10375788464431125
Portugal 370 173 197 512667410125121212710781241210
Greece 115 61 54 1812227112106
Poland 119 50 69 12242311822436
Moldova 291 111 180 103101215651036867712
Iceland 60 29 31 2222522381
Czech Republic 83 81 2 414624123514107108
Cyprus 164 61 103 85876451233
Armenia 152 87 65 75108441261051465
Slovenia 36 16 20 141154
Latvia 21 1 20 1
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed televoting results of semi-final 1[91]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Televote
Sweden
Georgia
Australia
Albania
Belgium
Montenegro
Finland
Azerbaijan
Portugal
Greece
Poland
Moldova
Iceland
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Armenia
Slovenia
Latvia
Italy
Spain
United Kingdom
Contestants
 Sweden 227 124 103 48105376103511025457161
Georgia 99 62 37 12662182
Australia 160 139 21 211126233
Albania 76 38 38 12351017
Belgium 165 40 125 1054821078487646810684
Montenegro 56 17 39 1735821651
Finland 92 41 51 8253714332553
Azerbaijan 150 87 63 1216112121072
Portugal 370 173 197 128101212712810126127671212101210
Greece 115 61 54 236645212545
Poland 119 50 69 6328123583238312
Moldova 291 111 180 5612710108101271081071010812108
Iceland 60 29 31 71451472
Czech Republic 83 81 2 2
Cyprus 164 61 103 47634563127744124636
Armenia 152 87 65 3105748645814
Slovenia 36 16 20 282431
Latvia 21 1 20 145127
Close

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the first semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by juries
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
7  Portugal Azerbaijan,  Georgia,  Iceland,  Latvia,  Moldova,  Poland,  Spain
3  Australia Czech Republic,  Slovenia,  Sweden
2  Greece Cyprus,  Montenegro
 Moldova Albania,  United Kingdom
 Sweden Belgium,  Finland
1  Armenia Greece
 Azerbaijan Italy
 Cyprus Armenia
 Czech Republic Portugal
 Poland Australia
Close
More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by televoting
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
9  Portugal Albania,  Belgium,  Finland,  Iceland,  Latvia,  Poland,  Slovenia,  Spain,  Sweden
3  Azerbaijan Czech Republic,  Georgia,  Moldova
 Moldova Australia,  Italy,  Portugal
2  Cyprus Armenia,  Greece
1  Albania Montenegro
 Georgia Azerbaijan
 Greece Cyprus
 Poland United Kingdom
Close

Semi-final 2

  Qualifiers
More information Place, Combined results ...
Split results of semi-final 2
Place Combined results Jury Televoting
Country Points Country Points Country Points
1  Bulgaria 403  Bulgaria 199  Bulgaria 204
2  Hungary 231  Netherlands 149  Hungary 165
3  Israel 207  Norway 137  Romania 148
4  Netherlands 200  Austria 115  Israel 132
5  Norway 189  Denmark 96  Croatia 104
6  Romania 174  Israel 75  Estonia 69
7  Austria 147  Hungary 66  Belarus 55
8  Croatia 141  Malta 55  Norway 52
9  Belarus 110  Belarus 55  Netherlands 51
10  Denmark 101  Serbia 53   Switzerland 49
11  Serbia 98   Switzerland 48  Serbia 45
12   Switzerland 97  Ireland 45  Ireland 41
13  Ireland 86  Croatia 37  Macedonia 40
14  Estonia 85  Macedonia 29  Austria 32
15  Macedonia 69  Romania 26  Lithuania 25
16  Malta 55  Lithuania 17  Denmark 5
17  Lithuania 42  Estonia 16  San Marino 1
18  San Marino 1  San Marino 0  Malta 0
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed jury voting results of semi-final 2[92]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Jury vote
Serbia
Austria
Macedonia
Malta
Romania
Netherlands
Hungary
Denmark
Ireland
San Marino
Croatia
Norway
Switzerland
Belarus
Bulgaria
Lithuania
Estonia
Israel
France
Germany
Ukraine
Contestants
 Serbia 98 53 45 26482226642117
Austria 147 115 32 63588710754761245846
Macedonia 69 29 40 582383
Malta 55 55 0 268135115714263
Romania 174 26 148 1041434
Netherlands 200 149 51 886612101031212888856586
Hungary 231 66 165 123533102522127
Denmark 101 96 5 475101061581032468421
Ireland 86 45 41 101352218742
San Marino 1 0 1
Croatia 141 37 104 3172413655
Norway 189 137 52 152771271041010512101031210
Switzerland 97 48 49 416448537312
Belarus 110 55 55 77371351012
Bulgaria 403 199 204 101212128121261286121212101267108
Lithuania 42 17 25 467
Estonia 85 16 69 223117
Israel 207 75 132 7104515637410121
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed televoting results of semi-final 2[92]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Televote
Serbia
Austria
Macedonia
Malta
Romania
Netherlands
Hungary
Denmark
Ireland
San Marino
Croatia
Norway
Switzerland
Belarus
Bulgaria
Lithuania
Estonia
Israel
France
Germany
Ukraine
Contestants
 Serbia 98 53 45 61210125
Austria 147 115 32 11463314234
Macedonia 69 29 40 10463125
Malta 55 55 0
Romania 174 26 148 67378788878757612101275
Netherlands 200 149 51 42367532341245
Hungary 231 66 165 1212661210461012681085877106
Denmark 101 96 5 14
Ireland 86 45 41 3146252234711
San Marino 1 0 1 1
Croatia 141 37 104 710885410761104625263
Norway 189 137 52 3255102637324
Switzerland 97 48 49 4255101151241242
Belarus 110 55 55 21132135868312
Bulgaria 403 199 204 8810128121212101281261210101281210
Lithuania 42 17 25 1210111
Estonia 85 16 69 4234235182126638
Israel 207 75 132 55710778647575710341087
Close

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the second semi-final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by juries
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
10  Bulgaria Austria,  Belarus,  Estonia,  Hungary,  Ireland,  Macedonia,  Malta,  Netherlands,  Norway,   Switzerland
3  Netherlands Croatia,  Romania,  San Marino
 Norway Denmark,  Germany,  Lithuania
2  Hungary Israel,  Serbia
1  Austria Bulgaria
 Belarus Ukraine
 Israel France
Close
More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by televoting
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
9  Bulgaria Belarus,  Denmark,  Germany,  Hungary,  Israel,  Malta,  Netherlands,  Norway,  San Marino
4  Hungary Austria,  Croatia,  Romania,  Serbia
2  Romania Estonia,  France
 Serbia Macedonia,   Switzerland
1  Belarus Ukraine
 Estonia Lithuania
 Lithuania Ireland
 Macedonia Bulgaria
Close

Final

  Winner
More information Place, Combined ...
Split results of the final
Place Combined Jury Televoting
Country Points Country Points Country Points
1  Portugal 758  Portugal 382  Portugal 376
2  Bulgaria 615  Bulgaria 278  Bulgaria 337
3  Moldova 374  Sweden 218  Moldova 264
4  Belgium 363  Australia 171  Belgium 255
5  Sweden 344  Netherlands 135  Romania 224
6  Italy 334  Norway 129  Italy 208
7  Romania 282  Italy 126  Hungary 152
8  Hungary 200  Moldova 110  Sweden 126
9  Australia 173  Belgium 108  Croatia 103
10  Norway 158  United Kingdom 99  France 90
11  Netherlands 150  Austria 93  Azerbaijan 42
12  France 135  Azerbaijan 78  Poland 41
13  Croatia 128  Denmark 69  Belarus 33
14  Azerbaijan 120  Armenia 58  Cyprus 32
15  United Kingdom 111  Romania 58  Norway 29
16  Austria 93  Belarus 50  Greece 29
17  Belarus 83  Hungary 48  Ukraine 24
18  Armenia 79  Greece 48  Armenia 21
19  Greece 77[e]  France 45  Netherlands 15
20  Denmark 77[e]  Cyprus 36  United Kingdom 12
21  Cyprus 68  Israel 34  Denmark 8
22  Poland 64  Croatia 25  Israel 5
23  Israel 39  Poland 23  Spain 5
24  Ukraine 36  Ukraine 12  Germany 3
25  Germany 6  Germany 3  Australia 2
26  Spain 5  Spain 0  Austria 0
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed jury voting results of the final[93]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Jury vote
Sweden
Azerbaijan
San Marino
Latvia
Israel
Montenegro
Albania
Malta
Macedonia
Denmark
Austria
Norway
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
Lithuania
Estonia
Moldova
Armenia
Bulgaria
Iceland
Serbia
Australia
Italy
Germany
Portugal
Switzerland
Netherlands
Ireland
Georgia
Cyprus
Belarus
Romania
Hungary
Slovenia
Belgium
Poland
United Kingdom
Croatia
Czech Republic
Ukraine
Contestants
 Israel 39 34 5 47568112
Poland 64 23 41 6172241
Belarus 83 50 33 1221273321512
Austria 93 93 0 46173152112431210375413314
Armenia 79 58 21 4471183645143232
Netherlands 150 135 15 3751241424104737415128184883
Moldova 374 110 264 810136327378710868634
Hungary 200 48 152 351141013128
Italy 334 126 208 6328121267107104825822102
Denmark 77 69 8 57845358355236
Portugal 758 382 376 1281212126101010810128125128712121275101212512810612128121271210
Azerbaijan 120 78 42 521055121211014416
Croatia 128 25 103 156337
Australia 173 171 2 1054883810217410355444747767106102
Greece 77 48 29 5121210612
Spain 5 0 5
Norway 158 129 29 1075263171010513122572766732
United Kingdom 111 99 12 64831123164712655310255
Cyprus 68 36 32 25127145
Romania 282 58 224 3310354612318
Germany 6 3 3 3
Ukraine 36 12 24 741
Belgium 363 108 255 181086224422786212351051
Sweden 344 218 126 107112465128638682610471066868716124847
Bulgaria 615 278 337 722872108124101266527121066828810106712101081067102
France 135 45 90 635453641215
Close
More information Total score, Jury score ...
Detailed televoting results of the final[93]
  • Voting procedure used:
  •   100% televoting
  •   100% jury vote
Total score
Jury score
Televoting score
 Televote
Sweden
Azerbaijan
San Marino
Latvia
Israel
Montenegro
Albania
Malta
Macedonia
Denmark
Austria
Norway
Spain
Finland
France
Greece
Lithuania
Estonia
Moldova
Armenia
Bulgaria
Iceland
Serbia
Australia
Italy
Germany
Portugal
Switzerland
Netherlands
Ireland
Georgia
Cyprus
Belarus
Romania
Hungary
Slovenia
Belgium
Poland
United Kingdom
Croatia
Czech Republic
Ukraine
Contestants
 Israel 39 34 5 113
Poland 64 23 41 523133217410
Belarus 83 50 33 621216438
Austria 93 93 0
Armenia 79 58 21 621012
Netherlands 150 135 15 121101
Moldova 374 110 264 81088531283665768461067121271258610121037664512
Hungary 200 48 152 474217623354422862124325628105151124
Italy 334 126 208 161038101212862885755447624410215864105271
Denmark 77 69 8 8
Portugal 758 382 376 1087101288875121212121281210610712875121212108777781210810810
Azerbaijan 120 78 42 151012410
Croatia 128 25 103 231273104115168833351215
Australia 173 171 2 2
Greece 77 48 29 3715121
Spain 5 0 5 5
Norway 158 129 29 61726151
United Kingdom 111 99 12 4134
Cyprus 68 36 32 11212322
Romania 282 58 224 326574641010731014612285410106747124262677663
Germany 6 3 3 3
Ukraine 36 12 24 734127
Belgium 363 108 255 12451264554687410851012254103421010710526586123545
Sweden 344 218 126 324327512155633333281611415323123427
Bulgaria 615 278 337 71212710610101210781074107787410585868671012812788128122
France 135 45 90 5421631415812216233441336
Close

12 points

Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's professional jury and televote in the final. Countries in bold gave the maximum 24 points (12 points apiece from professional jury and televoting) to the specified entrant.

More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by juries
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
18  Portugal Armenia,  Czech Republic,  France,  Georgia,  Hungary,  Iceland,  Israel,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Netherlands,  Poland,  San Marino,  Serbia,  Slovenia,  Spain,  Sweden,   Switzerland,  United Kingdom
4  Bulgaria Belarus,  Estonia,  Macedonia,  Norway
3  Sweden Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland
2  Azerbaijan Italy,  Portugal
 Belarus Azerbaijan,  Ukraine
 Greece Cyprus,  Montenegro
 Italy Albania,  Malta
 Netherlands Austria,  Romania
1  Austria Bulgaria
 Belgium Ireland
 Cyprus Greece
 Hungary Croatia
 Norway Germany
 Romania Moldova
 United Kingdom Australia
Close
More information N., Contestant ...
12 points awarded by televoting
N. Contestant Nation(s) giving 12 points
12  Portugal Austria,  Belgium,  Finland,  France,  Germany,  Iceland,  Israel,  Lithuania,  Netherlands,  Norway,  Spain,   Switzerland
7  Bulgaria Azerbaijan,  Belarus,  Czech Republic,  Hungary,  Macedonia,  San Marino,  United Kingdom
5  Moldova Australia,  Italy,  Portugal,  Romania,  Ukraine
4  Belgium Estonia,  Latvia,  Poland,  Sweden
2  Croatia Montenegro,  Slovenia
 Cyprus Armenia,  Greece
 Hungary Croatia,  Serbia
 Italy Albania,  Malta
 Romania Ireland,  Moldova
1  Azerbaijan Georgia
 France Bulgaria
 Greece Cyprus
 Sweden Denmark
Close

Broadcasts

Most countries sent commentators to Kyiv or commentated from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants and, if necessary, the provision of voting information. The EBU announced on 9 May, that all three shows would also be streamed live via YouTube.[94]

It was reported by the EBU that the contest was viewed by a worldwide television audience of approximately 182 million viewers,[95] which was 22 million less than the 2016 record which was viewed by 204 million.[96] The EBU stated that this decrease in viewing figures was likely a result of the withdrawal of Russia and its decision not to broadcast any of the three shows.[37][95]

More information Country, Broadcaster ...
Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries
Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Show(s) Commentator(s) Ref(s)
 Albania RTSH RTSH, RTSH HD, RTSH Muzikë, Radio Tirana All shows Andri Xhahu
 Armenia AMPTV Armenia 1, Public Radio of Armenia All shows Avet Barseghyan [97]
SF1/Final Gohar Gasparyan
 Australia SBS SBS All shows Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey [98][99]
 Austria ORF ORF eins All shows Andi Knoll [100]
 Azerbaijan İTV All shows Azer Suleymanli
 Belarus BTRC Belarus-1, Belarus 24 All shows Evgeny Perlin [101]
 Belgium RTBF La Une All shows Jean-Louis Lahaye [fr] and Maureen Louys [102]
VivaCité SF1/Final Olivier Gilain [103]
VRT één, Radio 2 All shows Peter Van de Veire [104]
 Bulgaria BNT BNT 1 All shows Elena Rosberg and Georgi Kushvaliev
 Croatia HRT HRT 1 All shows Duško Ćurlić [105]
HR 2 Zlatko Turkalj [hr]
 Cyprus CyBC CyBC All shows Tasos Tryfonos [el] and Christiana Artemiou [106]
 Czech Republic ČT ČT2 Semi-finals Libor Bouček [cs] [107]
ČT1 Final Libor Bouček and Martina Bárta
 Denmark DR DR1 All shows Ole Tøpholm [108]
 Estonia ERR ETV All shows Marko Reikop [109]
ETV+ Aleksandr Hobotov and Julia Kalenda [110]
Raadio 2 SF2/Final Mart Juur and Andrus Kivirähk [111]
 Finland Yle Yle TV1 SF1
[112]
Yle TV2 SF2/Final
 France France Télévisions France 4 Semi-finals Marianne James and Jarry [fr] [113]
France 2 Final Marianne James, Stéphane Bern and Amir Haddad [114][115]
 Georgia GPB 1TV All shows Demetre Ergemlidze
 Germany ARD One All shows Peter Urban [116]
NDR Fernsehen SF2
Das Erste Final
 Greece ERT ERT1, ERT HD, ERT World All shows Maria Kozakou and Giorgos Kapoutzidis [117]
Proto Programma, Voice of Greece
 Hungary MTVA Duna All shows Krisztina Rátonyi and Freddie [118]
 Iceland RÚV RÚV, Rás 2 All shows Gísli Marteinn Baldursson
 Ireland RTÉ RTÉ2 Semi-finals Marty Whelan [119]
RTÉ One Final
RTÉ Radio 1 SF2/Final Neil Doherty and Zbyszek Zalinski [120]
 Israel IBA Channel 1 All shows No commentary [121]
IBA 88FM Kobi Menora, Dori Ben Ze'ev [he] and Alon Amir [122]
 Italy RAI Rai 4 Semi-finals Andrea Delogu [it] and Diego Passoni [it] [123][124]
Rai 1 Final Flavio Insinna and Federico Russo
 Latvia LTV LTV1 All shows Valters Frīdenbergs [125]
Final Toms Grēviņš [lv]
 Lithuania LRT LRT, LRT HD, LRT Radijas All shows Darius Užkuraitis [lt] and Gerūta Griniūtė [126]
 Macedonia MRT MRT 1 All shows Karolina Petkovska [127]
 Malta PBS TVM All shows No commentary
 Moldova TRM Moldova 1 All shows Galina Timuș [128][129]
Radio Moldova Cristina Galbici [130]
Radio Moldova Tineret Cătălin Ungureanu and Maria-Mihaela Frimu
 Montenegro RTCG TVCG 1, TVCG Sat All shows Dražen Bauković and Tijana Mišković [131]
 Netherlands AVROTROS NPO 1, BVN All shows Cornald Maas and Jan Smit [132]
 Norway NRK NRK1 All shows Olav Viksmo-Slettan [133]
NRK3 Final Ronny Brede Aase [no], Silje Nordnes [no] and Markus Neby [no] [134]
NRK Tegnspråk Sign language performers [135]
NRK P1 SF2/Final Ole Christian Øen [136]
 Poland TVP TVP1, TVP Polonia, TVP Rozrywka and TVP HD All shows[f] Artur Orzech [137]
 Portugal RTP RTP1, RTP Internacional All shows José Carlos Malato and Nuno Galopim [138]
 Romania TVR TVR 1, TVR HD All shows Liana Stanciu and Radu Andrei Tudor [139][140]
 San Marino SMRTV San Marino RTV, Radio San Marino All shows Lia Fiorio and Gigi Restivo [141]
 Serbia RTS RTS1, RTS HD, RTS SAT SF1 Silvana Grujić and Olga Kapor [142]
SF2/Final Duška Vučinić [143][144]
 Slovenia RTVSLO TV SLO 2 Semi-finals Andrej Hofer [sl] [145]
TV SLO 1 Final
Radio Val 202 SF2/Final
Radio Maribor All shows
 Spain RTVE La 2 Semi-finals José María Íñigo and Julia Varela [146][147]
La 1 Final
 Sweden SVT SVT1 All shows Måns Zelmerlöw and Edward af Sillén [148]
SR P4 Carolina Norén, Björn Kjellman and Ola Gäverth [sv] [149]
  Switzerland SRG SSR SRF zwei Semi-finals Sven Epiney [150]
SRF 1 Final
RTS Deux Semi-finals Jean-Marc Richard and Nicolas Tanner
RTS Un Final
RSI La 2 Semi-finals Clarissa Tami [it] and Sebalter
RSI La 1 Final
 Ukraine UA:PBC UA:First All shows Tetyana Terekhova and Andriy Horodyskyi [151]
Ukrainian Radio Olena Zelinchenko and Roman Kolyada [uk] [152]
 United Kingdom BBC BBC Four Semi-finals Scott Mills and Mel Giedroyc [153]
BBC One Final Graham Norton
BBC Radio 2 Ken Bruce
Close
More information Country/Territory, Broadcaster ...
Broadcasters and commentators in non-participating countries
Country/Territory Broadcaster Channel(s) Show(s) Commentator(s) Ref(s)
 China HBS Hunan Television All shows Lee Wei Song and Lee Shih Shiong [154]
 Greenland KNR   Final Ole Tøpholm [155]
 Kazakhstan Khabar Khabar TV All shows Diana Snegina and Kaldybek Zhaysanbay [156]
 Kosovo RTK RTK 1 All shows Alma Bektashi [sq] and Agron Krasniqi [157]
 Slovakia RTVS Rádio FM Final Daniel Baláž [sk], Pavol Hubinák and Juraj Malíček [sk] [158]
 United States Viacom Logo TV Final Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews [159]
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Incidents and controversies

Russian withdrawal

Further information: Russia–Ukraine relations in the Eurovision Song Contest § 2017 contest

Channel One Russia (C1R) announced on 12 March 2017 that it would participate at the contest with "Flame Is Burning", performed by Julia Samoylova. However, Samoylova was issued a three-year travel ban on entering Ukraine by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on 22 March,[160] by virtue of illegally travelling directly from Russia to Crimea, a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014, in 2015 to give a performance.[161][162] Entry to Crimea by non-Ukrainian citizens via Russia is illegal under Ukrainian law;[161] however, Samoylova confirmed that she performed in Crimea in 2015.[163][164][165]

The EBU responded by stating its commitment to ensuring that all participating countries would be able to perform in Kyiv, while expressing its disappointment at the lack of compromise from C1R and UA:PBC.[166] C1R was offered the opportunity to allow Samoylova to perform via satellite from a venue of its choice,[167] but such a compromise was rejected by both C1R and the Ukrainian government.[168]

The director-general of the EBU, Ingrid Deltenre, condemned Ukraine's actions, describing them as "abusing the contest for political reasons" and "absolutely unacceptable".[169] C1R announced its withdrawal from the contest on 13 April, stating that they also might not broadcast the contest.[37][38][170] C1R had not organised accommodation before the artist announcement, as is typically the case, and refused to attend the meeting of heads of delegation. By announcing its artist just before the deadline for entry submission to the contest and not booking a hotel, it was speculated that C1R had not intended to compete in Kyiv due to audiences booing Russian artists in previous contests.[171]

As part of the Russian Victory Day celebrations on 9 May, Samoylova gave another performance in Crimea, including "Flame Is Burning", the song which was intended to represent Russia in the contest.[172]

Israeli broadcaster compromise

See also: Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation § European Broadcasting Union status

Under a proposal by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-finance minister Moshe Kahlon in April 2017, the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) would be reorganised into two separate entities: the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC), with responsibility for "general programming" such as entertainment, and another with responsibility for news and current affairs programming. The IPBC is also branded as Kan (Hebrew: כאן, lit. 'Here'). The EBU informed Kan's executive board on 7 April that such a compromise would render it ineligible for EBU membership without an outlet for news and current events programming. It was then reported that the IBA may cease to be a member of the EBU.[173]

The IBA was expected to close down on 15 May 2017, before Kan was expected to launch. However, on 9 and 10 May, the IBA abruptly shut down most of its operations in news and current affair programs.[174] The 2017 contest was the last program that Channel 1 aired under the IBA, where a skeleton staff of 20 people remained to ensure a smooth transmission of the shows.[122][175] After the contest ended, the IBA displayed a slide about its closure. During the jury voting segment of the final, Ofer Nachshon, the Israeli voting spokesperson since 2009, bid farewell on behalf of the IBA before revealing their jury points. This was incorrectly reported by several international media outlets as Israel leaving the contest.[176] Kan applied for EBU membership later that year, and signed an agreement with the EBU to allow it to participate in Eurovision events pending full membership,[177] thus permitting Israel's presence in the 2018 contest, which it went on to win.[178]

Argument for using pre-recorded vocals live

The Norwegian broadcaster NRK discussed with the EBU the possibility of abolishing the rule prohibiting pre-recorded vocals. The rule is intended to guarantee authenticity of live performances.[179] The discussion stemmed from when its representative Jowst stated his displeasure at the rule on 24 March, in reference to the sampling technique of chopped vocals in his song "Grab the Moment" which cannot be replicated in a live performance.[179]

Such discussions were also in place in 1999, when pre-recorded vocals during the Croatian entry, "Marija Magdalena" performed by Doris Dragović, led to objections by Norway — led at the time by future executive supervisor Jon Ola Sand. Such objections led the EBU to deduct a third of Croatia's final score, reducing it from 118 points to 79, for the purposes of admission to future finals.[180] The possible abolition of the rule, alongside the abolition of the live orchestra in 1999, led some fans and critics of the contest to argue that the contest became too commercialised and the authenticity of live performances compromised.[179]

After discussing the matter with the EBU, NRK was granted an exception to the rule. Jowst stated that "[the Norwegian delegation] have now been allowed to use the recorded vocal tracks, [...]. But [they] have also practiced a plan B with the backing vocalists, if there are big protests from others in Kyiv."[181] Both Jowst and Aleksander Walmann think that had "Grab the Moment" been in the semi-final of the 2018 contest following an abolition of the rule, they would have had an advantage. NRK stated on 2 May that Jowst was aiming to perform the song acoustically as a back-up, by bringing two additional backing vocalists who would perform the pre-recorded vocals live using a filter applied by the sound engineering team so as not to compromise on sound quality.[182]

Norwegian jury replacement

Norwegian jury member Per Sundnes made comments on NRK preview show Adresse Kiev on 17 April 2017 against Irish representative Brendan Murray, saying: "It's been a long time since they've gotten up and I do not think they'll do it again. They try the same formula year after year."[183] The comments were not welcomed by the Irish delegation, who subsequently reported the matter to the EBU.[184] The Irish Independent reported on 8 May that Sundnes had been replaced due to an alleged breach in jury rules. Commenting on the decision, the Irish head of delegation, Michael Kealy, said: "I'm glad that the European Broadcasting Union have reacted swiftly to this situation and that all jury members are impartial. It's only fair that each song in the Eurovision Song Contest is judged on its individual merits on the night." Sundnes was subsequently replaced by Erland Bakke.[185]

Sundnes stated in an interview with VG on 9 May: "I do not know anything about the jury stuff, just that I'm not [in it]. It was not really surprising. The same thing happened in Sweden last year with the Swedish professional jury."[186] NRK admits it made a mistake by letting Sundnes sit in both the professional jury and the judging panel of Adresse Kiev. However, when the broadcaster was informed by the EBU that this was against the rules, it rectified the situation quickly. Project manager for Melodi Grand Prix and the Norwegian head of delegation, Stig Karlsen [no], stated: "We have received some concerns from several teams that Per has been in the jury, while at the same time he has been meaningful in the program. Therefore, we took a new assessment."[187]

Estonian technical issues

On 11 May 2017, during the broadcast of the second semi-final, the microphones of the Estonian representatives appeared to have malfunctioned as singer Laura Põldvere could not be heard for approximately two seconds by viewers at home. It was later revealed that the Estonian delegation considered appealing to the EBU to allow Põldvere and Koit Toome to perform their entry "Verona" again as a result of the error, but later decided against it. Mart Normet, the Estonian head of delegation, explained, "If there has been such a powerful performance for three minutes and given an absolute maximum, then this energy again does not come back when you go on stage again". The EBU responded to the situation, reportedly describing the error as purely technical, as the microphone was supposed to automatically come on. Instead, a sound technician was forced to respond by manually switching on the microphone via the sound desk.[188] The entry ultimately failed to qualify for the final, with Põldvere expressing her annoyance, though she stated, "I do not think it's so tremendously influenced when a few words remain unheard".[189]

Salvador Sobral's political message

Salvador and Luísa Sobral at the first semi-final winners' press conference

The Portuguese representative Salvador Sobral drew attention to the European migrant crisis by turning up to the first semi-final winners' press conference in an "S.O.S. Refugees" shirt.[190] "If I'm here and I have European exposure, the least thing I can do is a humanitarian message", Sobral stated. "People come to Europe in plastic boats and are being asked to show their birth certificates in order to enter a country. These people are not immigrants, they're refugees running from death. Make no mistake. There is so much bureaucratic stuff happening in the refugee camps in Greece, Turkey and Italy and we should help create legal and safe pathways from these countries to their destiny countries", he added, earning a round of applause.[191] Later on, the EBU ordered a ban so that he could not wear it for the remainder of the contest.[192] The EBU explained that Sobral's jumper was used as a means of "political message," which violates the rules of the contest.[192] However, Sobral argued in his winning press conference that it was not political, but a message of humanitarianism.[193]

Jamala stage invasion

Jamala's performance of her song "I Believe in U" during the interval of the final was disrupted by a man draped in an Australian flag who invaded the stage and briefly mooned the audience before being removed by security.[194] He was later identified as Ukrainian prankster Vitalii Sediuk.[195] In their response to the incident, the EBU stated the following: "A person took to the stage at the beginning of Jamala's performance of 'I Believe in U' at tonight's Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. He was quickly removed from the stage by security and out of the arena. He is currently being held and questioned by the police at the venue police office."[196]

Other awards

In addition to the main winner's trophy, the Marcel Bezençon Awards and the Barbara Dex Award were contested during the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. The OGAE, "General Organisation of Eurovision Fans" voting poll also took place before the contest.

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards, organised since 2002 by Sweden's then-Head of Delegation and 1992 representative Christer Björkman, and 1984 winner Richard Herrey, honours songs in the contest's final.[197] The awards are divided into three categories: Artistic Award, Composers Award, and Press Award.[198] The winners were revealed shortly before the final on 13 May.[199]

More information Category, Country ...
Category Country Song Artist Songwriter(s)
Artistic Award  Portugal "Amar pelos dois" Salvador Sobral Luísa Sobral
Composers Award
Press Award  Italy "Occidentali's Karma" Francesco Gabbani
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OGAE

OGAE, an organisation of over forty Eurovision Song Contest fan clubs across Europe and beyond, conducts an annual voting poll first held in 2002 as the Marcel Bezençon Fan Award. The 2017 poll ran from 1 to 30 April with a daily-publishing of adding the votes of 44 clubs,[200] and after all votes were cast, the top-ranked entry was Italy's "Occidentali's Karma" performed by Francesco Gabbani; the top five results are shown below.[201][202][203]

More information Country, Song ...
Country Song Artist Points
 Italy "Occidentali's Karma" Francesco Gabbani 497
 Belgium "City Lights" Blanche 335
 Sweden "I Can't Go On" Robin Bengtsson 308
 France "Requiem" Alma 277
 Estonia "Verona" Koit Toome and Laura 242
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Barbara Dex Award

The Barbara Dex Award is a humorous fan award given to the worst dressed artist each year. Named after Belgium's representative who came last in the 1993 contest, wearing her self-designed dress, the award was handed for the first year by the fansite songfestival.be after the fansite House of Eurovision organised it from 1997 to 2016.[204]

More information Place, Country ...
Place Country Artist
1  Montenegro Slavko Kalezić
2  Latvia Triana Park
3  Czech Republic Martina Bárta
4   Switzerland Timebelle
5  Albania Lindita
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Official album

Cover art of the official album

Eurovision Song Contest: Kyiv 2017 is the official compilation album of the contest, put together by the European Broadcasting Union and was released by Universal Music Group digitally on 21 April and physically on 28 April 2017.[205] The album features all 42 participating entries, including the semi-finalists that failed to qualify for the final. The album also features the Russian entry which withdrew from the contest on 13 April 2017.[37][206][207] This is the second consecutive year that the official album featured a song which had withdrawn before the contest.

Charts

More information Chart (2017), Peak position ...
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[208]15
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)ERROR in "Austria": Missing parameters: artist.[209]3
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[210]30
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[211]37
German Compilation Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[212]2
Greek Albums (IFPI)[213]12
Irish Compilation Albums (IRMA)[214]7
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[215]37
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)ERROR in "Switzerland": Missing parameters: artist.[216]3
UK Compilation Albums (OCC)[217]7
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See also

Notes

  1. [a]
    On behalf of the German public broadcasting consortium ARD[40]
  2. [b]
    Performance contains uncredited live vocals from Aleksander Walmann
  3. [c]
    Russia, which had originally been allocated into semi-final 2, withdrew from the contest in April 2017.
  4. [d]
    Switzerland, who had been allocated to pot one, were pre-allocated to compete in the second semi-final at the request of Swiss broadcaster SRF.
  5. [e]
    Despite finishing with the same number of points as Denmark, Greece is deemed to have finished in nineteenth place due to receiving a greater number of points in the televote.
  6. [f]
    The three shows were broadcast on TVP Rozrywka and TVP HD with a one day delay.

References

External links

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