| Eurovision Song Contest 2015 | |
| |
| Theme | Building Bridges |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
| Semi-final 1 date | 19 May 2015 |
| Semi-final 2 date | 21 May 2015 |
| Final date | 23 May 2015 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria |
| Executive supervisor | Jon Ola Sand |
| Host broadcaster |  ORF
|
| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 40 |
| Debuting countries |  Australia
|
| Returning countries |  Cyprus Czech Republic Serbia
|
| Withdrawing countries |  Ukraine
|
| Voting | |
| Voting system | Each country awards 12, 10, 8–1 points to their 10 favourite songs. |
| Winner |  Sweden"Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw |
| Eurovision Song Contest | |
◄2014  2016►
| |
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Vienna, Austria, following Conchita Wurst's win in the 2014 contest with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".
It was won by Måns Zelmerlöw of Sweden, performing the song "Heroes". This gave the country its sixth win and made it the first to win the Contest twice with more than 300 points. It also placed it one win behind current record holders Ireland.
Location
Bidding Phase
After Austria's victory in the 2014 Contest, their delegation revealed the possibility of hosting the contest either in the capital city, Vienna, or in Salzburg. Vienna, Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Lower Austria, Graz, Upper Austria, Burgenland, and Vorarlberg were all reportedly interested in hosting the contest while Salzburg pulled out of the bidding phase as the city is not able to meet the cost of the venue and promotion.
Vienna, the capital city and the considered front-runner in the race, has two venues in the phase: the Wiener Stadthalle which hosts the annual Erste Bank Open tennis tournament, along with many concerts and events throughout the year, and the trade fair centre, Messe Wien. These venues have capacities of up to 16,000 and 30,000 respectively. Also in the race are Stadthalle Graz and Schwarzl Freizeit Zentrum, both located in the second largest city of Austria, Graz. With a maximum capacity of 30,000, the Wörthersee Stadion, located in Klagenfurt, also joined the race of hosting the contest. However, the stadium would require the construction of a roof for the contest to be hosted there. Innsbruck also joined the race with Olympiahalle, the venue which hosted ice hockey and figure skating at the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics. A fifth city, Linz, joined the race for hosting the contest with Brucknerhaus, although the venue is not big enough for the contest. Being geographically close to Linz, Wels showed desire to host the event as well. Oberwart, with the Exhibition hall and Vorarlberg, with the Vorarlberger Landestheater were the latest cities to declare an interest.
On the 29 May 2014, host broadcaster for the 2015 contest ORF and the EBU released some requirements and details about the venue. ORF requested interested parties to respond until 13 June 2014. They stated that the venue needs to be available for at least 6 to 7 weeks before the contest and one week after the conclusion of the contest. The chosen venue must not be open-air, but an air-conditioned building with a capacity of at least 10,000 and a minimum ceiling height of 15 meters, that is insulated for sound and light. The Green Room should be located in the arena or as near it as possible, with a capacity of 300. An additional room that is at least 6,000 m2 that will house 2 catering stands, a viewing room, make-up rooms, wardrobe, and booths for approximately 50 commentators. Separate offices that must be open between the 11 and 24 May 2015, that are at least 4,000 m2 in space to house the press centre, with a capacity for at least 1,500 journalists.
After the deadline ended on 13 June 2014 ORF announced 12 venues interested in hosting the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest:
| City | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Candidate cities | ||
| Graz | Stadthalle Graz | Hosted the 2010 European Men's Handball Championship. |
| Innsbruck | Olympiaworld | Hosted the figure skating and ice hockey events at both the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympic Games. |
| Vienna | Wiener Stadthalle, Hall D | Hosts the annual Erste Bank Open tennis tournament and many events along the year. |
| Backup venues | ||
| Vienna | Heldenplatz | |
| New All-round Concert Hall in Neu Marx | ||
| Marx hall | ||
| Trabrennbahn Krieau | ||
| Failed bids | ||
| Klagenfurt | Wörthersee Stadion | Served as host for some matches of UEFA Euro 2008. |
| Oberwart | Messezentum | |
| Vienna | Schönbrunn Palace | |
| Vienna International Airport, Parking C | ||
| Wels | Messehalle | |
Participants
Semi Final 1
16 countries took part in the first semi-final. Australia, Austria, 
France and 
Spain voted in this semi-final. The ten songs in places 1 to 10 qualified for the final and are marked in orange.
Semi Final 2
17 countries took part in this semi-final. Australia, 
Germany, 
Italy and the 
United Kingdom voted in this semi-final. The ten songs in places 1 to 10 qualified for the final and are marked in orange.
Final
As in the 2014 contest, the winner was announced as soon as it was mathematically impossible to catch up. In this case, the winner had been determined by the 36th vote, which came from Cyprus.
NOTES: While Austria and Germany both finished with no points, Austria is listed as finishing "ahead" of Germany due to the tiebreaker rule that favours the song performed earliest in the running order.
Scoreboard
