Azeri duo Ell/Nikki wins Eurovision Song Contest

May 14, 2011, 22:27 GMT

Berlin - Azerbaijan's duo Ell/Nikki won the annual Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday in the German city of Dusseldorf.

Their ballad Running Scared earned them 221 points, ahead of rivals from Italy and Sweden.

It was the first time the Caucasus country won the competition, in which 43 countries participated. Of those, 25 made it through to Saturday's final round.

The result means that Azerbaijan can host next year's Eurovision Song Contest, four years after first entering the competition in 2008.

Germany's Lena, who was defending her title from last year, came 10th overall with a sultry song, Taken By A Stranger.

Points are allocated half by a professional panel and half by telephone voting from all participating countries.

The result came as a surprise after acts from Ireland, France, Finland and Denmark had all been touted as favourites.

The winning entry by duo by Nigar Jamal, 31, and Eldar Gasimov, 22, was a moving love song, performed in English and displaying contemporary Western influence.

This year's entries were of an unusually high calibre and included Georgian gothic rock, Italian jazz and Corsican opera alongside the usual catchy euro-pop tunes, while traditional musical influences were muted.

Italy's Raphael Gualazzi reached second position in the final moments of voting, after a 14-year absence in the competition, followed by Sweden's Eric Saade and his catchy tune, Popular.

The audience was treated to striking stage acts by spiky-haired Irish twins John and Edward Grimes, or Jedward, as well as Moldovan group Zdob si Zdub, whose performance included tall pointy hats and a fairy riding a monocycle.

The least successful of the finalists was Anna Rossinelli from Switzerland, whose song In Love For A While earned just 25 points.

Broadcast from a football stadium in the western German city of Dusseldorf, the show included a live audience of 36,000 and was watched by an estimated 120 million people across all competing states.

The stage, on which competitors had up to three minutes of air time, included a huge LED screen measuring 60 by 18 metres. The entire event cost an estimated 25 million euros (36 million dollars).

The contest provided Germany with the opportunity to advertise its European credentials, as each entry was preceded with a brief video featuring nationals of that country, integrated into various German cities.

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