2006 is the third year that, due to increasing numbers of interested countries, the idea of a semi final, the week before the Contest proper, is to be used.

The Final

• Where? The 2006 Contest was held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece.
• When? Saturday 20th May, 2006.
• Who? The presenters were Sakis Rouvas and Maria Menounos.
• Winner? Finland won, represented by Lordi with the song Hard Rock Hallelujah.

Order	-	Country	Flag	Song Title	Artist	Score	Placing
1	F	Switzerland		If We All Give A Little	Six4One	30	16th
2	F	Moldova		Loca	Arsenium ft. N	22	20th
3	F	Israel		Ze Hazman (It's Time)	Eddie Butler	4	23rd
4	F	Latvia		I Hear Your Heart	The Cosmos	30	17th
5	F	Norway		Alvedansen	Christine Gulbrandsen	36	14th
6	F	Spain		Bloody Mary	Las Ketchup	18	21st
7	F	Malta		I Do	Fabrizio Faniello	1	24th
8	F	Germany		No No Never	Texas Lightning	36	15th
9	F	Denmark		Twist of Love	Sidsel Ben Semmane	26	18th
10	S	Russia		Never Let You Go	Dima Bilan	248	2nd
11	S	Macedonia		Ninanajna	Elena Risteska	56	12th
12	F	Romania		Tornerò	Mihai Traistariu	172	4th
13	S	Bosnia-Herzegovina		Lejla	Hari Varesanovic	229	3rd
14	S	Lithuania		We Are The Winners	LT United	162	6th
15	F	UK		Teenage Life	Daz Sampson	25	19th
16	F	Greece		Everything	Anna Vissi	128	9th
17	S	Finland		Hard Rock Hallelujah	Lordi	292	1st
18	S	Ukraine		Show Me Your Love	Tina Karol	145	7th
19	F	France		Il était temps	Virginie Pouchin	5	22nd
20	F	Croatia		Moja Stikla	Severina	56	13th
21	S	Ireland		Every Song Is A Cry For Love	Brian Kennedy	93	10th
22	S	Sweden		Invincible	Carola	170	5th
23	S	Turkey		Superstar	Sibel Tüzün	91	11th
24	S	Armenia		Without Your Love	Andre	129	8th

* The top 10 countries (excluding the "Big 4") qualify automatically for the final in 2007.

Serbia-Montenegro withdrew from this year's contest, and were replaced in the final by Croatia, who finished 11th last year.

The Semi

Due to the large numbers of countries wishing to enter, a live Semi-Final will be held before the Eurovision Contest itself. In this semi final, a maximum of 26 countries will compete for 10 places in the final. All countries participating in ESC 2006 are required to vote in the normal style for the songs. The top 10 will be announced in random order from special enevelopes, and only after the final are the full results revealed, including the points of the countries missing out (places 11-25).

• Where? The 2006 Semi Final was held in Athens, Greece.
• When? Thursday 18th May, 2006.
• Who? The presenters were Sakis Rouvas and Maria Menounos.
• Winner? The qualifiers, in the order drawn were Russia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey and Armenia.
• Results

Order	Country	Flag	Song Title	Artist	Score	Placing
1	Armenia		Without Your Love	Andre	150	6th
2	Bulgaria		Let Me Cry	Mariana Popova	36	17th
3	Slovenia		Mr Nobody	Anzej Dezan	49	16th
4	Andorra		Sense Tu	Jennifer	8	23rd
5	Belarus		Ma	Polina Smolova	10	22nd
6	Albania		Zjarr e ftohte	Luiz Ejlli	58	14th
7	Belgium		Je t'adore	Kate Ryan	69	12th
8	Ireland		Every Song Is A Cry For Love	Brian Kennedy	79	9th
9	Cyprus		Why Angels Cry	Annette Artani	57	15th
10	Monaco		La coco-dance	Séverine Ferrer	14	21st
11	Macedonia		Ninanajna	Elena Risteska	76	10th
12	Poland		Follow My Heart	Ich Troje ft. Real McCoy	70	11th
13	Russia		Never Let You Go	Dima Bilan	217	3rd
14	Turkey		Superstar	Sibel Tüzün	91	8th
15	Ukraine		Show Me Your Love	Tina Karol	146	7th
16	Finland		Hard Rock Hallelujah	Lordi	292	1st
17	Netherlands		Amambanda	Treble	22	20th
18	Lithuania		We Are The Winners	LT United	163	5th
19	Portugal		Coisas de nada	NonStop	26	19th
20	Sweden		Invincible	Carola	214	4th
21	Estonia		Through My Window	Sandra Oxenryd	28	18th
22	Bosnia-Herzegovina		Lejla	Hari Varesanovic	267	2nd
23	Iceland		Congratulations	Silvía Nótt	62	13th

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