The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following Emmelie de Forest’s win at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden with the song “Only Teardrops”.
This was the third time that Denmark hosted the contest, the most recent previous occasion being in 2001. The two semi-finals took place on 6 and 8 May 2014, and the final on 10 May 2014. The shows were presented by Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel and Pilou Asbæk.
The show organisers from Copenhagen all in all spent 112 million Danish kroner on the contest; three times more than what was expected and were furthermore highly accused of cases of nepotism within the organisation.
The host broadcaster, DR, chose the B&W Hallerne as the host venue after considering several bids from cities and venues across Denmark.
Thirty-seven countries participated, two fewer countries competing compared to the previous year, and the smallest number since 2006.
The winner was Conchita Wurst with the song “Rise Like a Phoenix”, written by Charley Mason, Joey Patulka, Ali Zuckowski, and Julian Maas for Austria. This was Austria’s first win in the competition since 1966.
A new record of 195 million viewers for the Eurovision Song Contest was reported.