Russian performer Dima Bilan won first place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, the final part of which was held in Belgrade. Thanks to Bilan’s victory next year, this competition will be hosted by Russia.
“Dima Bilan won the Eurovision victory not so much with his song as with a spectacular performance,” commented the first place of the Russian representative in Belgrade. The audience was impressed by the number in which the figure skater Evgeni Plushenko and the Hungarian violinist Edwin Marton participated with the Stradivarius instrument.
Dima Bilan was one of the favorites of the music competition. However, not everyone expected that he would win with such a wide margin from the rest of the participants. The Russian singer in Belgrade was very popular, reporters watched his every move, but at the same time he was considered the most arrogant Eurovision participant of this year.
Until late at night in the center of the capital of Serbia, young people had fun with music, despite the fact that, contrary to expectations, the Serbian singer Elena Tomashevich took only sixth place. Thousands of people in Belgrade watched the final evening of the contest in front of a huge monitor on the square near the city meeting. This evening really turned into a youth holiday.
Serbs have invested a lot in changing the stereotypes about the country with the help of Eurovision, to which foreigners are often afraid to come, fearing for their safety. But now all the guests and participants acknowledge that in Belgrade they felt free and at every turn felt goodwill.
According to the Director General of State Television of Serbia, Alexander Tiyanich, money cannot measure what Serbia received by adjusting its image. Indeed, the Eurovision Song Contest was held without scandals and incidents, its organization was at the highest level. Belgrade received the highest rating from the European organizers of the competition.
For the first time, performers from forty-three countries took part in this music competition – more than ever. And so it was held in a new format – with two semi-final evenings. Participants in Belgrade spent almost two weeks in constant rehearsals and entertainment. The Eurovision Song Contest was held in one of the largest and best equipped sports arenas in Europe, which housed more than fifteen thousand spectators. The atmosphere of the final concert was very similar to the atmosphere of sports rallies.
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