Baltics bomb out of Eurovision

  • 2007-05-14
  • By TBT staff

STAYING PUT: The victory monument is a gathering point for the russianspeaking population on holidays such as May 9. Parliamnet will not discuss it'sremoval.

Latvian band Bonaparti.lv were the highest-scoring Baltic entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in 16th place. The six-man band performed an Italian-language song written by Swedish songwriter Kjell Jennestig.

The contest, held in the Finnish capital Helsinki on May 13, was won by Serbian singer Marija Serifovic with her sensual ballad "Molitva" (a Prayer). Ukraine's entry placed second, followed by Russia.

Lithuania's 4Fun was the next nearest Baltic entry, coming 21st.

Estonia's Gerli Padar, sister of past Eurovision winner Tanel Padar, bombed out of the semi-final in 22nd place.

Controversially, Estonian judges gave 12 points to Russia, more than it awarded its neighbour Latvia (10 points) or Lithuania (0 points). Commentators said it was probably more of a nod to Estonia's sizeable Russian population than a statement about the two countries' recent rocky relations.