Thousand of Eurovision fans re-watch 2009 contest for lockdown entertainment

Thousands of fans of the Eurovision Song Contest have re-watched the 2009 edition of the competition as a source of lockdown entertainment.​

The hashtag #EurovisionAgain was trending on Twitter in the UK on Saturday evening after the official account for the competition urged viewers to watch the 11-year-old footage.

This year’s Eurovision had been set to take place in Rotterdam next month but the event was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Thousands tuned in to the YouTube broadcast of the 2009 contest to see the 25 participating nations battle it out for the top prize.

Viewers were encouraged to vote for their favourite act.

The 2009 Eurovision was held in Moscow and was won by Norway’s entry Alexander Rybak with his song Fairytale.

He sang and played the violin while on stage.

Rybak finished way ahead of the other competitors with 387 points.

Iceland came second with 218, while Azerbaijan finished in third with 207.

Malena Ernman, the mother of Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg, competed in that year’s contest.

The 2009 competition was an unusually successful year for the UK that saw Sugababe Jade Ewen finish in fifth with the song It’s My Time, scoring 173 points.