Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Grand Final: Get the lowdown on the 26 countries competing in Malmö

 

Matilda Battersby
Saturday 18 May 2013 14:13 EDT
Comments
Amandine Bourgeois singing 'L'enfer Et Moi' Bourgeois won French Pop Idol La Nouvelle Star in 2008 and has since released two albums. The 33-year-old says she uses "her inner emotions to sing, to write and to feed her inspiration". Her competition entry is a slow-tempo blues-influenced pop song composed by David Salkin and Boris Bergman.
Amandine Bourgeois singing 'L'enfer Et Moi' Bourgeois won French Pop Idol La Nouvelle Star in 2008 and has since released two albums. The 33-year-old says she uses "her inner emotions to sing, to write and to feed her inspiration". Her competition entry is a slow-tempo blues-influenced pop song composed by David Salkin and Boris Bergman. (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The moment we have all been waiting for has arrived: the European Song Contest 2013 is live from Malmö in Sweden in a matter of hours. Who will take Europe's quirkiest singing honour this year? And which countries will suffer the ignominy of "nil points"? Which extraordinarily bad song will win most from the judges on political grounds alone?

From Finland's Bridal-themed offering "Marry Me" (featuring the first Eurovision lesbian kiss) to Romania's Dracula-inspired operatic ballad "It's My Life" and Armenia’s metal entry written by Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, we give you the lowdown on each of the 26 countries competing in this year's.

Click here or on "View Images" for pictures of the contestants as they'll appear in tomorrow's final

Watch the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 Grand Final tonight at 8pm on BBC1

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in