Italy’s dancing gorilla
Francesco Gabbani’s up-beat euro-pop hit ‘Westerner’s Karma’ was at one point tipped to win this year’s contest, but he ended up coming sixth.
Italy’s performance was notable for its dancing gorilla and lyrics which mocked Westerners’ ‘spiritual tourism’ into other cultures.
While the number was a clear crowd-pleaser, it didn’t fare quite as will with the jury panel.
Moldova’s epic sax guy
Moldova’s ‘SunStroke Project’ entered the competition with the catch ‘Hey, Mamma!’, but their secret weapon was the band’s saxophone player.
After being branded the ‘epic sax guy’ following his appearance in the 2010 contest, Sergey Stepanov was back.
But although popular with the audience, it wasn’t enough. Moldova came in third place.
Isaiah Firebrace performs for Australia
The 17-year-old winner of last year’s X Factor, Isaiah Firebrace, performed the powerful ballad ‘Don’t Come Easy’ and proved to be a jury favourite.
After the jury votes were tallied, Firebrace came in fourth place.
Votes from viewers, however, enabled five countries to leapfrog ahead, with Australia placing ninth overall.
Another Australian performs, Anja Nissen
Representing Denmark this year was 21-year-old Danish-Australian Anja Nissen, who grew up in Sydney’s Blue Mountains and won The Voice in 2014.
Written and performed by Australians, Nissen’s ‘Where I Am’ had the longest pyrotechnic waterfall in Eurovision history.
The powerful notes and glittering fireworks weren’t enough though, Denmark came in 20th place.
An ‘Aussie’ gatecrasher
In a surprise moment, a gatecrasher wrapped in an Australian flag mooned the audience during a performance from last year’s winner, Jamala.
Isaiah Firebrace told SBS that everyone in the stadium was treated to the view.
“I was shocked,” he said. “I’m pretty sure everyone else was shocked.”
The man, Vitalii Sediuk, turned out to be a Ukranian prankster, who was hauled off by security and arrested for his exploits.
Vitalii Sediuk moons audience
And the winner is…
Portugal won the 2017 song contest with a tender, simply-staged, understated love song.
Salvador Sobral sung the song, composed by his sister, in a small stage surrounded by the crowd, against a simple, projected backdrop of a forest.
He said that music was supposed to be about feelings and emotion, not fireworks.
After being declared the winners, the pair performed the piece together, as a duet.
