Eurovision Song Contest 2000
The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the 1999 contest with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT), the contest was held at the Globe Arena, with the final on 13 May 2000. The live show was presented by Swedish television presenters Kattis Ahlström and Anders Lundin.
Twenty-four countries took part in the contest. Latvia participated for the first time, while Slovakia, Greece and Hungary decided not to compete, citing financial reasons.[1] Finland, Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland returned after their relegation from the previous edition. Russia also returned, after their last participation in 1997. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Sloveniawere relegated due to having the lowest average scores over the previous five editions.
The winner was Denmark with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love", performed by the Olsen Brothers and written by the oldest brother Jørgen Olsen. This was Denmark's second victory in the contest, following their win in 1963 almost 4 decades earlier. Russia, Latvia, Estonia and Germany rounded out the top five. Both Russia and Estonia achieved their best result in the contest up to this point, while Latvia achieved the best placing for a debuting country since Poland's second place finish in 1994. On the day of their victory, Jørgen Olsen was 50 years and 61 days of age, making him the oldest artist yet to win the contest. The combined ages of The Olsen Brothers make them the oldest aged act ever to win the contest.[2]
Sponsored by Microsoft, the contest was also broadcast in Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States via the internet for the first time.[1]
It was the first time since 1996 that the contest was held on mainland Europe, having in the interim been held in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Israel.
The Swedish broadcaster, SVT, announced on 7 July 1999, that Stockholm would be the host city of the 2000 contest, with the event being staged at the Globe Arena (now known as the Avicii Arena). It was said to be chosen due its size, being able to accommodate an audience of 16,000 - a new record - and also because Stockholm had not hosted the contest since 1975. It was also argued that it would be somewhat cheaper than the other options.[3]
