The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the 2004 contest with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU), the contest was held at the Palace of Sports, and consisted of a semi-final on 19 May, and a final on 21 May 2005. The two live shows were presented by Ukrainian television presenters Maria Efrosinina and Pavlo Shylko.
Lise Darly is a French singer and was selected to represent Monaco in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, held in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Monaco has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 24 times since its debut in 1959. The country's only win in the contest came in 1971, when Séverine performed "Un banc, un arbre, une rue". As a result, Monaco was expected to host the contest in 1972, but it ultimately declined. Monaco is the only microstate to have won the contest to date.
Valters and Kaža, known internationally as Walters and Kazha, were a Latvian music duo consisting of Valters Frīdenbergs and Kārlis Būmeisters. They were best known for representing Latvia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "The War Is Not Over", written by Mārtiņš Freimanis, finishing in fifth place with 153 points.
Monaco chose its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in an internal selection by national broadcaster, Télé Monte Carlo. Séverine Ferrer was chosen to represent the principality with the song "La Coco-Dance", written and composed by J. Woodfeel and Iren Bo and choreographed by Bruno Vandelli.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine, with the song "Tomorrow I Go" performed by Ledina Çelo. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2004. This marked the second time that Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since its debut in 2004. Due to the top 10 result in the previous contest, the nation automatically qualified for the grand final, which took place on 21 May 2005. In the final, it performed as number eight and placed 16th out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 53 points.
Israel participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "HaSheket SheNish'ar" written by Pini Aaronbayev, Eyal Shachar and Ben Green. The song was performed by Shiri Maimon. The Israeli entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Kdam Eurovision 2005, organised by the Israeli broadcaster Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The competition took place on 2 March 2005 and featured fourteen entries. "HaSheket SheNish'ar" performed by Shiri Maimon emerged as the winner after gaining the most points following the combination of votes from five regional juries and a regional televote.
Lithuania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Little by Little" written by Bobby Ljunggren and William "Billy" Butt. The song was performed by Laura and the Lovers. The Lithuanian broadcaster Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) organised the national final "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka in order to select the Lithuanian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. The national final took place over eight weeks and involved 49 competing entries. The results of each show were determined entirely by a public vote. In the final, twenty entries remained and "Little by Little" performed by Laura and the Lovers was selected as the winner with 5,465 votes.
Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Talking to You" written by Jacob Launbjerg and Andreas Mørck. The song was performed by Jakob Sveistrup. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2005 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ten songs competed in a televised show where "Tænder på dig" performed by Jakob Sveistrup was the winner as decided upon through two rounds of public voting. The song was later translated from Danish to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Talking to You".
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Love?" written by Karl Broderick. The song was performed by Donna and Joe. The Irish entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the third season of the music competition series You're a Star, organised by the Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The competition consisted of 17 shows and concluded with a final, resulting in the selection of "Love?" performed by Donna and Joe as the Irish Eurovision entry after facing a public televote.
Slovenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Stop" written by Omar Naber and Urša Vlašič. The song was performed by Omar Naber. Slovenian broadcaster Radiotelevizija Slovenija organised the national final EMA 2005 in order to select the Slovenian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Fourteen entries competed in the national final where the winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top three entries were selected. In the second round, "Stop" performed by Omar Naber was selected as the winner.
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Le grand soir" written by Alec Mansion and Frédéric Zeitoun. The song was performed by Nuno Resende. The Belgian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through the national final Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 2005, organised by the Walloon broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF). In the final on 20 March 2005 which featured two competing entries, "Le grand soir" performed by Nuno Resende was selected as the winner after gaining 50.2% of the public televote.
Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Call Me" written by Andrej Babić. The song was performed by the group Feminnem. The Bosnian broadcaster Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) organised the national final BH Eurosong 2005 in order to select the Bosnian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Fourteen entries participated during the show on 6 March 2005 where a combination of jury and public televoting selected "Zovi" performed by Feminnem as the winner. The song was later translated from Croatian to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Call Me".
Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Let's Get Loud" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by the group Suntribe. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Televisioon (ETV) organised the national final Eurolaul 2005 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Nine songs competed in the national final and "Let's Get Loud" performed by Suntribe was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "If I Had Your Love" written by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Linda Thompson and Selma Björnsdóttir. The song was performed by Selma, which is the artistic name of singer Selma Björnsdóttir who was internally selected by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) in February 2005 to represent Iceland at the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Selma previously represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 where she placed second in the competition with the song "All Out of Luck". The Icelandic song, "If I Had Your Love", was presented to the public on 19 March 2005 during the television programme Laugardagskvöld með Gísla Marteini.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "My Impossible Dream" written by Robert D. Fisher and Bruce Smith. The song was performed by Glennis Grace. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2005 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Six entries competed in each semi-final with three advancing: two entries selected based on a public vote and one entry selected by a three-member jury panel. Twelve entries qualified from to compete in the final on 13 February 2005 where "My Impossible Dream" performed by Glennis Grace was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.
Portugal participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Amar" written by José da Ponte, Alexandre Honrado and Ernesto Leite. The song was performed by the duo 2B, which was internally selected by the Portuguese broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) to represent the nation at the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. 2B and "Amar" were announced as the Portuguese entry on 22 March 2005 and the song was presented to the public on 1 April 2005.
Switzerland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Cool Vibes" written by David Brandes, Jane Tempest and John O'Flynn. The song was performed by the band Vanilla Ninja, which was internally selected by the Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse in November 2004 to represent the nation at the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. "Cool Vibes" was presented to the public as the Swiss song during the show Congratulations - 50 Jahre Eurovision Song Contest on 5 March 2005.
Poland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Czarna dziewczyna" written by Łukasz Lazer, Michał Szymański and Ivan Komarenko. The song was performed by Ivan and Delfin. In December 2004, the Polish broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) announced that the Polish entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine would be selected through an internal selection. "Czarna dziewczyna" performed by Ivan and Delfin was announced as the Polish entry on 29 January 2005 during the TVP1 programme Stratosfera.
Monaco's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul was the first after a twenty-five-year break. They were represented by Maryon with the song "Notre planète".
Monaco 
