Eurovision Song Contest 2002 – Tallinn

See all of our on-the-spot reports from Tallinn

The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. The contest took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL’s win at the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark with the song “Everybody”. It took place on 25 May 2002.

imageThere had been worries early in the proceedings whether Estonian broadcaster ETV would be able to fund the contest; however, worries were put to rest when a combination of fundraising activities and the Estonian Government enabled them to host the event. For the first time, a slogan (or theme) was implemented. This year’s theme was called ‘A Modern Fairytale’, which was evident in the postcards aired between the songs, which showed classic fairytales ending in modern Estonian situations.[2][3]

The final took place on the 25 May 2002 at the Saku Suurhall. Opening the show were the reigning champions; Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, performing a shorter reprise of their winning entry. The hosts for the evening, Annely Peebo and Marko Matvere, gave a performance of “A Little Story in the Music”, composed by Raimond Valgre and arranged especially for the event, during the commercial break between the songs from Sweden and Finland.[3]

The contest was won by Latvia, represented by Marie N with the song “I Wanna”, which scored a total of 176 points, beating the runner-up Malta by a tight margin of 12 points. The United Kingdom and host country Estonia shared 3rd place with 111 points each, while France finished in 5th place with 104 points.

Despite being one of the favourites to win the contest, Denmark finished last with just 7 points and had to sit out of the following year’s contest.

 

Draw Country Language Artist Song Place Points
01 Cyprus English One “Gimme” 6 85
02 United Kingdom English Jessica Garlick “Come Back” 3 111
03 Austria English Manuel Ortega “Say a Word” 18 26
04 Greece English Michalis Rakintzis “S.A.G.A.P.O.” 17 27
05 Spain Spanish, English Rosa “Europe’s Living a Celebration” 7 81
06 Croatia English Vesna Pisarović “Everything I Want” 11 44
07 Russia English Prime Minister “Northern Girl” 10 55
08 Estonia English Sahlene “Runaway” 3 111
09 Macedonia Macedonian Karolina Gočeva “Od nas zavisi” (Од нас зависи) 19 25
10 Israel Hebrew, English Sarit Hadad “Nadlik Beyakhad Ner (Light a Candle)”
(נדליק ביחד נר)
12 37
11 Switzerland French Francine Jordi “Dans le jardin de mon âme” 22 15
12 Sweden English Afro-dite “Never Let It Go” 8 72
13 Finland English Laura Voutilainen “Addicted To You” 20 24
14 Denmark English Malene “Tell Me Who You Are” 24 7
15 Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian, English[8] Maja Tatić “Na jastuku za dvoje” (На јастуку за двоје) 13 33
16 Belgium English Sergio & The Ladies “Sister” 13 33
17 France French Sandrine François “Il faut du temps (je me battrai pour ça)” 5 104
18 Germany English Corinna May “I Can’t Live Without Music” 21 17
19 Turkey Turkish, English Buket Bengisu
& Group Safir
“Leylaklar Soldu Kalbinde” 16 29
20 Malta English Ira Losco “7th Wonder” 2 164
21 Romania English Monica Anghel
& Marcel Pavel
“Tell Me Why” 9 71
22 Slovenia Slovene Sestre “Samo ljubezen” 13 33
23 Latvia English Marie N “I Wanna” 1 176
24 Lithuania English Aivaras “Happy You” 23 12