It's been a long time coming: after a few near misses (number 3 in 2003 & 2007 and number 2 in 2006) Russia finally wins the Eurovision Song Contest.

Dima sure was giggling (yes, giggling) a lot at the Winner's Press Conference tonight, but he has good reason to. He referred to his mixed emotions after losing to the fabulous Lordi in 2006 which has turned into absolute happiness tonight. The EBU has planned a Winner's Tour for Dima, and he will be in Finland on Wednesday, so keep a look out..

Diana Gurtskaya made an appearance at the Press Conference, and we are presuming that she was there to support her winner friend.

Tomorrow the Press Centre will be dismantled, and the ESC will leave Belgrade. Until next year in Russia!

Who will win tonight? The excitement is rising, and the Press Centre here is bustling..

Some quotes from Thursday's Press Conference for hopeful contestants:

Iceland's Fridrik: "If ESC was a little baby Reykjavik will take good care of it.".

Sweden's Charlotte: "We will do our best in the Finals.".

Portuguese delegation repersentative: "I think we are ready to host next ESC.".

Whoever the winner is, may the best country win! Who is YOUR choice?

We found out yesterday that RTS (Serbian Broadcaster) had given OGAE Serbia the big job of organising the Euroclub & Euro Cafe. For a club of 139 members they have done very well!

We also heard from OGAE Serbia that RTS had been very cooperative with the needs of the fans here in Belgrade. For example, RTS had offered 1.200 tickets to the OGAE clubs, and in the beginning 700 plus tickets were reserved, but at the end only 600 plus tickets were bought because of cancellations . OGAE Serbia was worried that they would have to pay for the whole 700 plus tickets, but RTS had agreed to absorb the loss, which explains the empty seats during the semifinals.

There have also been strange seating arrangements in the Arena during the semifinals; apparently this was due to someone working for EBU (I think). OGAE Serbia and RTS had tried to intervene to correct the situation but was not successful. The result was that some people who had bought tickets together had to sit separately. What a shame..

Yesterday at the Euro Cafe was the annual meeting of all the 39 OGAE clubs: 31 Clubs attended so it was quite a good turn-up. Of course we were represented by our own Maiken (with Jouni and myself there as her sidekicks ).

For those who came to Belgrade through our Club, we had to apply for the OGAE Cards (jäsenkortti). With the cards we could get into the Euroclub and get discounts at the Eurocafe. For next year OGAE Card holders can also get a discount for the official ESC merchandise/products that you can see on www.eurovision.tv  We heard yesterday that the main purpose of the OGAE Cards is that, if for example next year the host country gives very few ESC tickets to the fan clubs, then OGAE Card holders will get priority. But Maiken will explain all of this later.

Oh, and the OGAE Cards are valid for two years (2008 & 2009), so for those of you who do not like your card photos, well, tough!

Tonight is the BIG NIGHT!

Someone from the Big-4 countries had expressed a wish that a "normal country would win this year".

I suppose this means that the winners of the last few years were "abnormal" countries. Let's see who they are: Turkey (2003), Ukraine (2004), Greece (2005), Finland (2006), Serbia (2007).

And here I was thinking that the Eurovision experience was the ESC fiilis in the host city during Viisuviikko plus enjoying the local culture. How stupid of me   But no matter what some Big-4 smart person says I would be so happy to return to "abnormal" Finland on Monday..

Ha-ha..On the TV screens at the Press Centre right now there is a live feed from the Beogradska Arena- they are checking the lip-sync with the sound (so that the picture and sound coordinates). So funny!

Olimme eilen Suomen porukan kanssa bailaamassa afterpartyja yhteistyo-DJ:mme DJ Ohrmeisterin kanssa. Ohrmeister pyysi kertomaan kaikille suomalaisille ystavilleen terveisia ja toivoo tulevansa taas pian soittamaan euroviisumusiikkia meille kaikille.

In alphabetical order, Albania, Croatia, Denmark, Georgia, Iceland, Latvia, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine qualified to the Final.  

Did the rigged voting system separating countries suspected of "tactical voting" (the Scandinavians, the ex-Yugos, the ex-Soviets) have an effect on which countries qualified? Maybe, but popular opinion at the Press Centre agrees that the best songs went through to the Final; at the same time, some are wondering: which one was the jury choice?

At the Press Conference Vania Fernandez's (Portugal) natural voice was heard, and it is amazing how such a gentle voice can render such a powerful performance. When Georgia's Diana Gurtskaya was asked how she felt, she simply said "I'm very happy, thank you.". Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson expressed happiness that all the Scandinavian countries qualified to the Final. When asked if the winner of ESC 2008 was in the conference room, Ukraine's Ani Lorak said, "Yes.".

But who did Ani Lorak mean? Just two more days to go and we'll find out. Now the ESC party has moved on to the Euroclub and the Euro Cafe, so more news later (maybe..).