Sweden claims its sixth Eurovision Victory

Shooting to the top of the list with an endless barrage of ‘12 points’, Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow has won the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest. Hosted in Vienna following Conchita Wurst’s historic win, the competition’s Grand Final saw 27 countries battle it out to claim the top spot. Conchita herself was one of the hosts of Saturday night’s final, alongside Mirjam Weichselbraun, Alice Tumler and Arabella Kiesbauer .

This year’s competition saw an unusually low number of dance tracks, making Zelmerlow’s “Heroes” stand out from the other entries. Garnering an impressive 365 points from a mixed televoting/jury system, the Swedish singer’s victory became evident even before all countries had finished announcing their votes. While initial voting scores saw a constant battle for first place, the end result placed Russia’s power ballad in second, trailing 62 points behind the winner, while Italy’s operatic trio, and San Remo victors, “Il Volo” came third with 292 points.

Although the top three slots remained unchallenged throughout the voting, other notable performances included Belgium’s Loic Nottet who placed fourth, while controversial entry Australia had a serious case of ‘beginners luck’ as pop sensation Guy Sebastian snatched 5th place. The same cannot be said for ‘home’ contestants Austria, who tied for last place with their German neighbours after scraping together a grand total of 0 points.

Mans’ win adds to a long history of success for Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest, taking the top spot only three years after Loreen’s win brought the competition to Malmo in 2012.