Eurovision Song Contest 2011 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eurovision Song Contest 2011
"Feel Your Heart Beat!"
Dates
Semi-final 1	10 May 2011
Semi-final 2	12 May 2011
Final	14 May 2011
Host
Venue	Esprit Arena Düsseldorf, Germany
Presenter(s)	Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab
Executive supervisor	Jon Ola Sand
Host broadcaster	ARD/NDR
Participants
Number of entries	43
Debuting countries	None
Returning countries	Austria  Hungary  Italy  San Marino
Non-returning countries	None
Vote
Winning song	Azerbaijan "Running Scared"
2010 ← Eurovision Song Contest → 2012

The 56th Eurovision Song Contest was a big music event. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany. Germany hosted it because their singer Lena Meyer-Landrut won the contest in 2010. Her song was called "Satellite".

The contest had two semi-finals and one grand final. The first semi-final was on May 10, 2011. The second semi-final was on May 12, 2011. The exciting final happened on the evening of May 14, 2011. The winners were Ell & Nikki from Azerbaijan. Their winning song was "Running Scared".

Where Was Eurovision 2011 Held?

The Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf was the main venue.

The main place for Eurovision 2011 was the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf. This city is in Germany. Germany's TV company, Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), chose this arena.

Germany had hosted the Eurovision Song Contest before. The first time was in 1957 in Frankfurt. The second time was in 1983 in Munich.

Since 1998, this was the first time a "Big Five" country hosted the contest. The "Big Five" are countries that always get a spot in the final. They are Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Italy joined the "Big Five" in 2011.

Cities That Wanted to Host

Many German cities wanted to host Eurovision 2011. Twenty-three cities showed interest. Eight cities officially tried to become the host city. These included Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Gelsenkirchen, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Munich.

On August 21, 2010, four cities were chosen as finalists:

• Berlin: They suggested a large hangar.
• Düsseldorf: They offered the Esprit Arena.
• Hamburg: They proposed the Hamburg Exhibition Centre.
• Hanover: They suggested the Hanover Exhibition Centre.

Düsseldorf was finally chosen as the host city.

How the Contest Worked

The "Big Five" countries automatically get a spot in the final. The host country also gets a spot. In 2011, Germany was both a "Big Five" country and the host.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided on the rules. They met in Belgrade, Serbia. They decided that the rules would stay the same. This meant 24 countries would be in the final. However, Italy returned to the contest in 2011. This made the total number of finalists 25.

Who Hosted the Show?

On December 16, 2010, the hosts for Eurovision 2011 were announced. They were Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers, and Stefan Raab. This was the third time three people hosted the contest. It was also the second time in a row.

How Countries Were Grouped

To make the semi-finals fair, countries were put into six groups. This happened on January 17, 2011. Countries were drawn from these groups. This decided if they would be in the first or second semi-final. It also helped plan rehearsal times.

This draw also decided which semi-final the "Big Five" countries would vote in. For example, Israel asked to be in the second semi-final. This was because of their Memorial Day. Germany also asked to vote in the second semi-final.

Countries in the Contest

     Countries in the first semi-final      Countries voting in the first semi-final      Countries in the second semi-final      Countries voting in the second semi-final

On December 31, 2010, the EBU confirmed that 43 countries would compete. Some countries returned after not participating for a while. These included Austria (last in 2007), Italy (last in 1997), San Marino (last in 2008), and Hungary (last in 2009).

The EBU decided that all countries had to choose their singers and songs by March 14. This was so the running order could be decided on March 15.

Semi-finals

First Semi-final

• The first semi-final was on May 10, 2011.
• The top ten countries from this semi-final moved on to the final.
• Two "Big Five" countries, Spain and the United Kingdom, voted in this semi-final.

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	English translation	Results
01	Poland	Polish	Magdalena Tul	"Jestem"	I am	Out
02	Norway	English, Swahili	Stella Mwangi	"Haba Haba"	Little by little	Out
03	Albania	English, Albanian	Aurela Gaçe	"Feel the Passion"	—	Out
04	Armenia	English	Emmy	"Boom-Boom"	—	Out
05	Turkey	English	Yüksek Sadakat	"Live It Up"	—	Out
06	Serbia	Serbian	Nina Radojčić	"Čaroban" (Чаробан)	Magical	Qualified
07	Russia	English	Alexey Vorobyov	"Get You"	—	Qualified
08	Switzerland	English	Anna Rossinelli	"In Love for a While"	—	Qualified
09	Georgia	English	Eldrine	"One More Day"	—	Qualified
10	Finland	English	Paradise Oskar	"Da Da Dam"	—	Qualified
11	Malta	English	Glen Vella	"One Life"	—	Out
12	San Marino	English	Senit	"Stand By"	—	Out
13	Croatia	English	Daria Kinzer	"Celebrate"	—	Out
14	Iceland	English	Sigurjón's Friends	"Coming Home"	—	Qualified
15	Hungary	English, Hungarian	Kati Wolf	"What About My Dreams?"	—	Qualified
16	Portugal	Portuguese	Homens da Luta	"A luta é alegria"	The struggle is joy	Out
17	Lithuania	English	Evelina Sašenko	"C'est ma vie"	It's my life	Qualified
18	Azerbaijan	English	Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal	"Running Scared"	—	Qualified
19	Greece	English, Greek	Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike	"Watch My Dance"	—	Qualified

Second Semi-final

• The second semi-final was on May 12, 2011.
• The top ten countries from this semi-final also moved on to the final.
• Three "Big Five" countries, France, Germany, and Italy, voted in this semi-final.

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	English translation	Results
01	Bosnia and Herzegovina	English, Bosnian	Dino Merlin	"Love in Rewind"	—	Qualified
02	Austria	English	Nadine Beiler	"The Secret Is Love"	—	Qualified
03	Netherlands	English	3JS	"Never Alone"	—	Out
04	Belgium	English	Witloof Bay	"With Love Baby"	—	Out
05	Slovakia	English	TWiiNS	"I'm Still Alive"	—	Out
06	Ukraine	English	Mika Newton	"Angel"	—	Qualified
07	Moldova	English	Zdob şi Zdub	"So Lucky"	—	Qualified
08	Sweden	English	Eric Saade	"Popular"	—	Qualified
09	Cyprus	Greek	Christos Mylordos	I loved you like an angel	—	Out
10	Bulgaria	Bulgarian	Poli Genova	"Na inat" (На инат)	For spite	Out
11	Macedonia	Macedonian	Vlatko Ilievski	"Rusinka" (Русинкa)	Russian Girl	Out
12	Israel	Hebrew, English	Dana International	"Ding Dong"	—	Out
13	Slovenia	English	Maja Keuc	"No One"	—	Qualified
14	Romania	English	Hotel FM	"Change"	—	Qualified
15	Estonia	English	Getter Jaani	"Rockefeller Street"	—	Qualified
16	Belarus	English	Anastasia Vinnikova	"I Love Belarus"	—	Out
17	Latvia	English	Musiqq	"Angel in Disguise"	—	Out
18	Denmark	English	A Friend In London	"New Tomorrow"	—	Qualified
19	Ireland	English	Jedward	"Lipstick"	—	Qualified

The Grand Final

• The final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest was on May 14, 2011.
• The "Big Five" countries automatically qualified for the final.
• Twenty countries qualified from the two semi-finals.
• In total, 25 countries competed in the final.
• The voting system combined votes from TV viewers and expert juries. Viewers could vote while the songs were being performed.

Draw	Country	Language	Artist	Song	English translation	Points	Place
01	Finland	English	Paradise Oskar	"Da Da Dam"	—	57	21
02	Bosnia and Herzegovina	English, Bosnian	Dino Merlin	"Love in Rewind"	—	125	06
03	Denmark	English	A Friend In London	"New Tomorrow"	—	134	05
04	Lithuania	English	Evelina Sašenko	"C'est ma vie"	It's my life	63	19
05	Hungary	English, Hungarian	Kati Wolf	"What About My Dreams ?"	—	53	22
06	Ireland	English	Jedward	"Lipstick"	—	119	08
07	Sweden	English	Eric Saade	"Popular"	—	185	03
08	Estonia	English	Getter Jaani	"Rockefeller Street"	—	44	24
09	Greece	English, Greek	Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike	"Watch My Dance"	—	120	07
10	Russia	English, Russian	Alexey Vorobyov	"Get You"	—	77	16
11	France	Corsican	Amaury Vassili	"Sognu"	Dream	82	15
12	Italy	Italian, English	Raphael Gualazzi	"Madness of Love"	—	189	02
13	Switzerland	English	Anna Rossinelli	"In Love for a While"	—	19	25
14	United Kingdom	English	Blue	"I Can"	—	100	11
15	Moldova	English	Zdob şi Zdub	"So Lucky"	—	97	12
16	Germany	English	Lena Meyer-Landrut	"Taken by a Stranger"	—	107	10
17	Romania	English	Hotel FM	"Change"	—	77	17
18	Austria	English	Nadine Beiler	"The Secret Is Love"	—	64	18
19	Azerbaijan	English	Ell and Nikki	"Running Scared"	—	221	01
20	Slovenia	English	Maja Keuc	"No One"	—	96	13
21	Iceland	English	Sjonni's Friends	"Coming Home"	—	61	20
22	Spain	Spanish	Lucía Pérez	"Que me quiten lo bailao"	They can't take away the good things I've lived	50	23
23	Ukraine	English	Mika Newton	"Angel"	—	159	04
24	Serbia	Serbian	Nina	"Čaroban" (Чаробан)	Magical	85	14
25	Georgia	English	Eldrine	"One More Day"	—	110	09

Images for kids

• 

  Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab hosted the 2011 edition.

• 

  Israeli backing vocalists, at Eurovision 2011

• 

  Cover art of the official album

See also

In Spanish: Festival de la Canción de Eurovisión 2011 para niños