The final commentary from Eurovision icon Terry Wogan, who had been the BBC's voice on radio then television since 1971.
The winner was Russia with the song "Believe", performed by Dima Bilan who wrote it with Jim Beanz. Ukraine, Greece, Armenia and Norway rounded out the top five.
The official website, eurovision.TV, streamed national finals for this year's contest live on ESCTV for the first time. Furthermore, for the first time the winner has been awarded an official winner's trophy of the Eurovision Song Contest. The trophy is a handmade piece of sandblasted glass in the shape of a 1950s microphone.