Bulgaria has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 13 times since making its debut at the 2005 contest in Kyiv. The country's best result is a second-place finish for Kristian Kostov and the song "Beautiful Mess" at the 2017 contest also in Kyiv.
Russia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 23 times since their debut in 1994. Russia won the 2008 contest with Dima Bilan performing the song "Believe". One of the most successful countries in the contest in the 21st century with a total of ten top five placements, Russia finished second with Alsou in 2000, Dima Bilan in 2006, Buranovskiye Babushki in 2012 and Polina Gagarina in 2015; third with t.A.T.u. in 2003, Serebro in 2007, Sergey Lazarev in 2016 and 2019, and fifth with Dina Garipova in 2013. In 2018, they failed to qualify for the final for the first time in their history.
An illusion is a distortion of the senses.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the 2008 contest with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. It was the first time Russia had hosted the contest - 14 years after the country made its debut. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Channel One (C1R), the contest was held at the Olimpiysky Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 12 and 14 May, and the final on 16 May 2009. The semi-finals were presented by Natalia Vodianova and Andrey Malahov, while the final was presented by Ivan Urgant and Alsou Abramova.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Fairytale" written and performed by Alexander Rybak. NRK organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2009 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak was selected as the winner with the clearest victory in Melodi Grand Prix to date following a five-week-long competition consisting of three semi-finals, a Second Chance round and the final.
Greece participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "This Is Our Night" sung by Sakis Rouvas. The Greek national television broadcaster Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (ERT) announced that it had internally selected Rouvas to represent Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest on July 15, 2008, making Greece the first country to pick an artist for the 2009 edition.
Bulgaria and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) once again decided to produce a special show to pick the Bulgarian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, but in a different format than 2008's EuroBGVision. For 2009, a two-part process was used: the first part, Be a Star, consisting of a nine heats and three monthly finals chose the participants for Evroviziya 2009 which consisted of a semi-final and final and ultimately chose the Bulgarian entrant.
Andorra participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, as previously confirmed by Andorran broadcaster Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra (RTVA).
Cyprus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Christina Metaxa represented the country with the song "Firefly".
Spain participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Televisión Española (TVE) chose its entry through a contest called Eurovisión 2009: El retorno, similar to Salvemos Eurovisión, which selected the 2008 entry. Soraya was selected on 28 February 2009 to represent Spain at Eurovision with the song "La noche es para mí".
Georgia, and its broadcaster Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), announced in August 2008 that it would be withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. The country later returned to the contest in December 2008, and planned for its third entry at the contest.
"Love Symphony" is a song by string quartet Quartissimo and was the Slovene entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The song was composed by Andrej Babić and Aleksandar Valenčić, and vocals were performed by Martina Majerle.
"La teva decisió " is a song by Susanne Georgi and was the Andorran entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, as well as the country's last entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. It was performed in both Catalan and English, and it was composed by Rune Braager, Marcus Winther-John, Lene Dissing, Susanne and Pernille Georgi, with lyrics by Josep Roca Vila.
"Jan Jan" is a song by Armenian singers Inga and Anush Arshakyan, and was the Armenian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in Moscow, Russia. It was composed by Mane Akopyan, with lyrics by Vardan Zadoyan and Avet Barseghyan.
"This Is Our Night" is a song by Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, from the album Irthes. The song was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos, Craig Porteils and Cameron Giles-Webb. It is best known as the Greek entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, held in Moscow.
Krassimir Ivanov Avramov born November 5, 1972 in Sliven, Bulgaria is a singer and songwriter.
"Probka" is a song by Latvian singer Intars Busulis, the Latvian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia. The song competed in the second semi-final of the contest on 14 May 2009 but failed to reach the final, having finished last with 7 points. The song is unusually rhythmically complex for a Eurovision song, with the main verse section played in the unusual time signature of 7
4, and constant changes in tempo. Busulis described "Probka" as "a song about a traffic jam in all senses and meanings. We all have experienced in our lives that we just hurry, rush somewhere and at the certain moment there is a stop, jam or probka. That's it – there is no way out, we are stuck! This is an appropriate moment to think if it was worth it to run and hurry at all."
Poli Plamenova Genova is a Bulgarian singer, songwriter, actress, and television presenter. Genova began her career in 1995, at the age of eight, as a member of the Bulgarian children's ensemble Bon-Bon.
Kristian Konstantinov Kostov is a Bulgarian-Russian singer. He was a finalist in season one of The Voice Kids Russia and a runner-up in the fourth season of X Factor Bulgaria. He represented Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Beautiful Mess", finishing in 2nd place. In January 2018, Kostov won the EBBA Public Choice award. In January 2019, Kostov was one of seven first batch singers who would be performing in the seventh season of Hunan Television's singing reality-competition Singer.
Bulgaria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, having internally selected Victoria Georgieva as their representative with the song "Growing Up Is Getting Old". She was due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Tears Getting Sober" before the event's cancellation.
