Serbia won its first Eurovision contest in its debut year as an independent nation, with a record 42 countries competing.
Key Facts
- Edition
- 52nd Eurovision Song Contest
- Competing countries
- 42 countries
- Winning song
- "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović (Serbia)
- Venue
- Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland
- Semi-final date
- 10 May 2007
- Final date
- 12 May 2007
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Finland's Lordi won the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with "Hard Rock Hallelujah", giving Finnish broadcaster YLE the right and responsibility to host the 2007 edition. The EBU waived its 40-country participation limit to accommodate a record number of applicants, allowing 42 nations to compete.
The 52nd Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki on 10 and 12 May 2007, hosted by Jaana Pelkonen and Mikko Leppilampi. Serbia, competing as an independent nation for the first time, won with "Molitva" performed by Marija Šerifović — the first winning song performed entirely in a native language since Israel's 1998 victory.
Serbia's debut victory marked a historic moment for the newly independent state. The contest set a new participation record of 42 countries. Ireland finished last in the final — its worst result to that point — while Belarus achieved its best-ever placing of sixth, reflecting the growing diversity of competitive outcomes across the continent.
Work
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Set a participation record of 42 nations and produced Serbia's first Eurovision victory with a native-language ballad, the first such win since 1998.