Germany wins song contest
OSLO, Norway (AP) – Germany's Lena Meyer-Landrut won the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest with the catchy pop song 'Satellite', edging out Turkey and Romania as the continent put aside its financial woes for a night of musical exuberance.
It was Germany's second win in the songfest's 55-year history, and the victory means it will host next year's contest.
Meyer-Landrut had been the second favourite among leading bookmakers, but first in a Google predictor programme.
Her victory marks the second year in a row that the Google program has correctly projected the winner of Eurovision, after predicting Norwegian fiddler Alexander Rybak's win in Moscow last year.
Meyer-Landrut, who turned 19 during the competition in Norway, won 246 points in the voting on Saturday by a panel of judges and telephone votes from fans in the 39 participating countries.
Onstage after winning, Meyer-Landrut demanded a kiss on the cheek from Rybak. "I'm so happy and so thankful and so grateful, and I never thought we could do this," she said, covering her face with a German flag.
Germany beat the Turkish entry by 76 points. Romania came in third.