Well, it's been coming for a while now. they came close in 2006, but they've clinched it in 2008 - with Dima Belan sealing the title for Eurovision 2008 with his ballad "Believe" I'll let the film clip do the talking. the Song garnered 272 points from televoters across 43 nations.
Watch His winning Entry
Second was the far more palatable Ukrainian Ani Lorak with "Shady Lady" - which got 230 points
Apologies for Greek Commentary
Third was Greece with Kalomira's "Secret Combination". which got 218 points.
As performed at the Greek National Final
Other than Greece and Norway, all other countries in the top 10 this year were not from western Europe - Israel and Turkey from the middle east, with the rest being made up of Eastern european countries. because of the partisan voting structure of the contest (often referred to as Diaspora voting) many of these countries vote for their neighbours - a time honoured tradition amongst Scandinavian countries. However, as with nearly every year the current form of Eurovision has existed, this has raised questions over how political the contest actually is.
Highlights this year also included Azerbaijan's first screamer of an entry (I'm not going to link to it because i'm still bleeding from the experience) which got them 8th place unbelievably. and Bosnia-Herzegovina's laundry knitting day.
Hottie watchers should refer to the Armenian Entry.
Honourable mention for Epic staging goes to the Latvian entry. Pirate Wenches FTW.
For a fright fest, switch to the Spanish (Think Daddy Yankee meets Danger Mouse) and Swedish entry (what happened to her face is a mystery).
Overall a well staged performance but it was a backwards step in lighting and set design to the fantastic Finnish set up last year. lets hope the Russians know people who know people who design sets properly.
so, thoughts?