Рекламный буклет "Russian winners of Eurovision@

Dear friends!! I am really happy and honored to represent my country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016! I am looking forward to this exiting experience and I hope you will all love my song as much as I do. Wish me luck)) thank you))

Yours Sergey Lazarev

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There will be 3 concert shows during Eurovision

• Semi-final 1: 10 May 2016
• Semi-final 2: 12 May 2016
• Grand Final: 14 May 2016

All three shows will be broadcasted live from Stockholm starting at 21:00 CET. Do not miss your chance to see semi-final 1 on the 10-th of May. Russian participant will sing the song “You are the only one”.

You are the only one [Intro] We can never let the word be unspoken We will never let our loving go come undone Everything we had is staying unbroken, oh You will always be the only one. You’re the only one [Pre-chorus] Won’t ever give up ’cause you’re still somewhere out there Nothing and no one’s gonna keep us apart Breaking it down but I’m still getting nowhere Won’t stop, hold on [Chorus] Thunder and lightning, it’s getting exciting Lights up the skyline to show where you are My love is rising, the story’s unwinding Together we’ll make it and reach for the stars You’re the only one, you’re my only one You’re my life, every breath that I take Unforgettable, so unbelievable You’re the only one, my only one [Verse] I could have told you to slow down and stay down I could have told you a secret – Won’t you keep it now? Thinking of making a showdown when love is found Thinking of waiting till you’re around. You’re my only one [Pre-chorus] … [Chorus] … Thunder and lightning, it’s getting exciting Lights up the skyline to show where you are You’re the only one, you’re my only one You’re my life, every breath that I take Unforgettable, so unbelievable You’re the only one, my only one

Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 times since their debut in 1994 and has participated every year since 2000. During 22 years from the debut of Russia in Eurovision in 1994 with Youddiph’ s song “Vechniy strannick” till the previous year with Polina Gagarina’s song “Million voices” Russia has already sent 20 participants. The break in Russian participation was only in 1998 and

in 1999. 

In 1998, because Russia did not participate in  the contest (due to lower average scores in participating in previous competitions), Russia refused to broadcast the competition and the European Broadcasting Union in return forbade the country to participate the following year. According to unconfirmed information, Russia was required to submit Tatyana Ovsiyenko with the song "My Sun".

In 1994 Russia became a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Since that time Russian participants were in top 7 times (See Supplement 1). Seven Russian participants finished with high results (here we do not count 4-th, 5-th and so on places). In total there were 20 Russian participants. See the following diagram:

Eurovision results of Russia from 1994

Russia was the most successful country in Eurovision in 2000-2015, with one win, four second places, and two third places. However, in 2010 they finished 11th, and in 2011 they were 16th, which was the worst place for Russia since 1995. Interest in the competition fell, but in 2012 Buranovskiye Babushki finished in second place, increasing Russia's interest in the show. Russia holds the record for the most top five finishes in the 21st century. Polina Gagarina was second in 2015 with 303 points, which is the highest score of a non-winning entry in Eurovision history and the highest score of any Russian contestant.

Russia won their first Eurovision Song Contest in 2008, when Dima Bilan, participating for the second time in the contest, won with the song "Believe", bringing the contest to Russia for 2009. In 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2015 Russia came second in the contest with Alsou's song "Solo", Dima Bilan's "Never Let You Go", Buranovskiye Babushki with "Party for Everybody" and Polina Gagarina's "A Million Voices" song. In both 2003 and 2007, Russia placed 3rd, with T.A.T.U’s "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia" and Serebro's "Song #1." In the diagram it may look like this:

Russian top and lower results