Norwegian wunderkind sweeps Eurovision

Monday, May 18, 2009 at 2:16 AM Posted by Beijing News


Norway's Alexander Rybak swept the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow with a brash performance of a folk-inspired ballad, sparking celebrations in his Scandinavian home country on Sunday.

The boyish 23-year-old, a classically trained musician born in Belarus, enchanted television viewers who gave him the most points ever awarded at Eurovision -- 387 -- for the song "Fairy Tale," which he penned himself.

Runners up Iceland and Azerbaijan trailed far behind in the annual contest that pitted 25 European countries against each other in the final.

"Thank you very much Russia. It's simply wonderful. Thank you," declared a delighted Rybak, speaking in Russian and clasping flowers and his fiddle after the tense voting was over.

Rybak was hailed back home in Norway, where by coincidence Sunday was the country's main patriotic holiday, Constitution Day.

"This is a great victory for Norway," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said on Norwegian television. "It's fantastic what he's done."

"Alexander III" ran the headline in the online edition of the Aftenposten newspaper, alluding to the fact this was the country's third Eurovision win.

Rybak was expected to return home at Oslo's Gardermoen airport at 2100 GMT on Sunday. His victory means Norway will host the contest next year.

Dozens of fans who had gathered in central Oslo to watch the contest cheered after Rybak's victory, television pictures showed, while messages of praise poured onto websites.

"It is fantastic that you won next to all these 'men' dripping with sweat and half-naked. You are authentic," wrote Hege, a 42 year-old.

Amid a line-up packed with the sort of over-the-top, kitschy performances for which Eurovision is famous, Rybak conquered with a no-frills show that combined deft dance steps and violin mastery with huge self-assurance.

The annual contest is watched by an estimated television audience of over 100 million people, making it one of the world's most watched events.

Formally, Norway's victory marked the end of recent east European domination of Eurovision -- but the song by the Belarus-born musician appeared targeted at eastern European audiences.

With its catchy refrain "I'm in love with a fairy tale," it featured east European-style folk rhythms and harmonies.

The song was enthusiastically received by Rybak's native Belarus, which gave it the maximum 12 points possible and where fans celebrated on Sunday.

"Super! We here in Minsk are already partying!" a user named Sasha posted on the website of the Nasha Niva newspaper.

A visitor to the LiveJournal blogging site wrote: "Excellent song. It is too bad that our couny did nothing for him and his family. I think this is an indisputable truth: If you want to become famous in Belarus, leave it."

Voting by specialist juries in each country was returned this year alongside tele-voting to dilute the tendency for audiences to vote in regional blocs, something west European critics say has favoured the ex-Communist states.



A participant attends the 17th Life Ball in Vienna. AFP/Joe Klamar

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