Finland ranked third from last in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Denmark won the competition in Malmö, Sweden in the early hours of Sunday.
The Finnish entry, “Marry Me” byKrista Siegfrids, placed 24th out the 26th finalists.
The song garnered just 13 points: four from Israel, three each from San Marino and France, two from Denmark and one from Germany – but none from any of Finland’s immediate neighbours.
"Europe wasn’t ready"
An upbeat Siegfrids acknowledged afterwards that the much-hyped same-sex kiss at the end of her performance may have lost her points.
“Europe wasn’t ready for ‘ding dong’. Some countries in Europe are still very conservative. That’s too bad. I’m living in 2013, and a lot of other people are too. I don’t regret anything,” she told Yle afterward.
“We’ve done something historic. Change has come, and I’m proud of that,” she said, adding: “I’m very pleased with our performance. Everything went just right.”
Siegfrids had earlier suggested that the kiss was a statement of support for a citizens’ campaign to allow same-sex marriage in Finland – the only Nordic state where it is still banned.
The winning Danish song, “Only Teardrops” byEmmelie de Forest, scooped up 281 points for an overwhelming win, so next year's ESC will again be held in Scandinavia.
Azerbaijan and Ukraine placed second and third.
Ranking behind Finland were Spain and Ireland -- which has won the ESC a record seven times.
Join the discussion of this story on our Facebook page.
