The country narrowly beat Ira Losco from Malta and pushed the UK's Jessica Garlick into third place.

Was Latvia a worthy winner? What do Britain have to do to win? Is some of the voting biased?

BBC News Online users shared their views.

Latvia shouldn't have won. Obviously I wanted Jessica Garlick to win but there were other songs much better than Latvia's. As Terry Wogan said, countries were voting for each other regardless of the standard of the actual song.
Jo Watkins, UK

Latvia's entry was a worthy winner. While I find most Eurovision songs bland and unappealing, Latvia unlike most of the rest of Europe had at least moved away slightly from the boy/girl band format. Consequently their song stood out from a crowd of songs that all sounded very much alike.
Bill, UK

Was the voting exceedingly biased? Yes. Did the best song win? Yes.
Mike Hughes, UK

I have to single out Russia and Greece as possibly the worst Paul Hart, UK

I think Latvia's win was worthy. Malta's "tune" was alright but I do think the UK's tune outshone everyone. But that's Eurovision, where the Greeks give the Cypriots 12 points and vica versa and the Baltic states vote en masse for each other. I am Irish and if we had been there we would have wiped the floor with the lot of them.

That said, I thought the Greek Robocop tune was shockingly bad but laughable and the Slovenian trolly dolly trannies should have done a lot better. Bravo for camp coolness.
John , UK

This year was the first time I watched the ESC. Suffice to say I was gobsmacked. I knew that "popular" music from the continent was bad (I mean there is a country over there, whose name I won't mention, that actually embraces David Hasselhoff as a rock star!!), but the standard of there songs was awful. I have to single out Russia and Greece as possibly the worst.

The voting was a total farce and proves that it really is an exercise in keeping your neighbours happy which I suppose in light of the quality of music, is all that you can do. I think its time that the UK pulled out of the contest until the quality of music improves and countries votes are based on the merits of the music and not who is next door!
Paul Hart, UK

Honestly, Wogan's comments (repeated by many others) about neighbourly voting are utterly groundless. Beyond the Greek-Cypriot issue, which we're all used to anyway, there really was nothing much to complain about this year.

Latvia's winning song got 40 of a possible 48 points from the "big four" countries of UK, Germany, France and Spain, plus the maximum 12 from Russia, the participant with the biggest population. Do people really think Latvia only won because their neighbours liked them?!
Martin, Germany

Latvia's song was good but not good enough to win the festival. Their performance was excellent but we have heard this song before. Malta, based on the current voting practices, will never win the Eurovison song contest because we do not have any neighbours. Placing second is still a good result.
Charles Farrugia, Malta

Whilst I have no problem with the Latvian victory, I do think the song bears a striking resemblance to "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin Mark Barrett, UK

The British entry was simply too good. I think it was a fantastic song but not in the Eurovision style which we all know means camp! Well done, Jessica.
Kate, England

We deserved to win as we have a lovely song from Marija, our golden child singer.
Maris Grava, Latvia

Can we learn our lesson this year and ditch the power ballads? Sad to see Slovenia's drag trio robbed of their rightful prize by a ghastly Ricky Martin rip-off with a Bucks Fizz dance routine.
Anthony McMahon, UK

Iam a little biased cause I am amazed at the show that my country put on. Latvian show was much better than the song. Well, it is SHOW business anyway. Who cares about the music? Our own winning song last year was a show as well. Eurovision is more of a VISION thing than a music thing but the show was great and you had a beautiful song. Just do something bizarre next year and you will win! Best wishes for everybody.
Marju Niit, Estonia

Whilst I have no problem with the Latvian victory, I do think the song bears a striking resemblance to "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin. Congratulations must also go to Jessica Garlick - an excellent performance secured a very respectable third place but I can't help thinking that if the UK had been positioned where Latvia was, the BBC would be hosting next year.
Mark Barrett, UK

I thought Jessica was by far the best singer and the song was our best entry for years Stuart, England

Did you hear the song of Carolina from Macedonia? It was wonderful and she was wonderful. That should be Eurovision glamour, not dolls of plastic.
Toni, Italy

Yes, of course Latvia should have won - it was their turn! Does anyone really CARE who wins? A lot of second division singers all singing bland "euro-pop" to judges who are going to vote politically regardless of the quality of the song - even Terry Wogan seemed annoyed at some of the results.
Keith Hill, UK

I think that among a string of dull and incredibly comical entries, the Latvian entry shone out. It was impressive, despite having an almost identical tune to Ricky Martin's hit "She Bangs". Terry Wogan was amusing as ever. Thanks also to Greece for their hilarious Robo-boyband, they really deserved more points than they got for having the nerve!!!
Andrew, England

OK, I'm from Australia, but I have lived in the UK for 20 years. My comment is really a question. Can Malta appeal against the result? Can a song that is clearly someone else's work - in this case "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin be rehashed by someone from Latvia and win the contest? I thought the songs were supposed to be original. If the Eurovision people allow this they are just encouraging others to do the same in the future and then the whole contest will be even more of a farce than it is already.
Desmond Schmidt, Australia

Jessica Garlick did our country proud. I thought Jessica was by far the best singer and the song was our best entry for years. No idea how Latvia did so well as the song was very poor. The points by most countries do not seem to relate to how good the song is but rather how close you are. It is about time the voting system was improved. Certainly for a minute wondered how a song performed by guys in womens' clothes was ahead of our entry for a while!!
Stuart, England

I think the song that Belgium brought to this contest was one of the few songs that was worth listening to Geert, Belgium

Voting was very biased: lot of "partisan" voting going on. Musically, Malta was the best.

We should invite a NON-EUROPEAN jury to vote for Euro Song Contest!!
Doke, Netherlands

I really thought that Jessica Garlick was better than Malta (even Latvia for that matter). I also thought that the German entry should have scored a lot higher.
Vince Pedicino, United States

One did feel for Malta last night, they clearly had the best song, however Malta's infamous antics of voting for near neighbours came home to roost when the other Baltic states ensured Latvia's success. Just a warning, with so many former Russian states now involved, they could hold the title between them for the foreseeable future - if they all do a Malta/Cyprus/Greece job for each other!
Philip Sowerbutts, UK

I think the song that Belgium brought to this contest was one of the few songs that was worth listening to. Sergio brought a new dimension to this contest, but sadly this was not recognised by many. On the other hand, this contest is starting to look more and more like just a bunch of neighbours giving each other the highest points...
Geert, Belgium

Malta should have won! Congratulations Ira for your excellent performance!
A. Micallef, Malta

In my opinion Ira Losco should have won!! She was very confident on stage and with her looks and her voice,she surely deserved to win. We are all very proud of her. Well done Ira and thank you on behalf of all us MALTESE!!!!!
Cora, Malta

I thought this was the worst Eurovision contest by far Danielle Lloyd, UK

Yes, Latvia was good but the girl from Switzerland deserved better. The parochial voting is a joke. They do their best but why are the presenters always so false and stiff. Enjoyed seeing the music from so many different countries anyway. If Israel can be in it so can Australia, and yes, we have platoons of Kylies on standby. Look out.
John Allen, Australia

It was a tough choice between Latvia and Malta. But what happened to Denmark? They couldn't have gotten fewer points if they took a live goat on stage, slit it's throat and sprayed the front row.
Jeff, Canada

We have just seen the broadcast and a group of eight gay men are completely baffled. How did Malta do so well? Why was Finland so close to relegation? The only positive was the song from France and the idiocy of Greece. Wogan was sharp as ever ... did they use dog squads to round up 35,000 into a square with a badly coiffed queen in Hamburg? PS Romania - on her own, she might just have won.
Andy, Australia

Latvia's song is the same song as Ricky Martin's She Bangs, but with other lyrics.
Miguel Olmos, Spain

I thought this was the worst Eurovision contest by far. I have been watching for many, many years and the songs were poor, the camera work was not spectacular, the voting was biased towards country keeping country happy. All in all I will not be watching next year. I do not wish to waste three hours of my life watching something that is so biased.
Danielle Lloyd, UK

All the former Soviet republics gave the top points to their neighbours, which suggested that Latvia's win was not wholly on merit of the song David Edgeworth, UK

I am Maltese and felt that our song deserved to win. Latvia's song was not really that good and only picked up points because it was supported by Eastern European nations, which was very unfair on a polished Maltese performance. We've now finished twice on two occasions - when will it be our turn?
Mario Cacciottolo, England

Our own song was a dirge so I think we were lucky to get third place. The real issue is the disgusting way the Baltic and other Eastern European countries scratched each others' backs and robbed Malta who presented the only song worthy of the name. When presented with the option of doing the honest thing or voting for a neighbour/friend, it's sad to so many people take the slimy way.
Greg Brown, UK

I have lost interest in the contest now because in many cases, as Terry Wogan himself said, it is not a song contest but a "vote for your neighbours" contest. All the former Soviet republics gave the top points to their neighbours, which suggested that Latvia's win was not wholly on merit of the song. I thought Malta's song was far more worthy of winning. Perhaps the rules should be reviewed, and if there is evidence of biased voting (Cyprus and Greece giving each other 12 points is another example) then the guilty countries should be banned from the contest.
David Edgeworth, UK

I was impressed with Latvia's performance, but if the UK wants to win we just need to come up with the cheesiest ballad ever created. Just look at the high placings of Malta's and France's boring entries and the number of times Johnny Logan has won.
Mike Clarke, UK

I have watched the contest for many years. Never again. I was absolutely disgusted, as I was last year, by the block voting of the eastern European countries and as far as I am concerned it is no longer the Eurovision song contest as originally intended. I think the BBC should boycott it next year in protest. I certainly will be.
Kath Moran,

The question shouldn't be whether Latvia is a worthy winner, but whether the Eurovision is a worthy contest Yuval Filmus, Israel

I think that Latvia deserved to win, other European countries obviously have different tastes in music to us and who cares if the contest is politcal, it's meant to be fun which Latvia's entry was.
Anna, UK

I think there should be an investigation into why the chorus of the winning song sounded so very similar to the second Bob the Builder song!
William, UK

Yes, yes, yes! I loved the song and I love Latvia!
Celia Clarke, England

Perhaps the UK should withdraw from the contest until the points system can be changed to eliminate the bias - how could Greece get any points at all over the UK entry? As we are one of the major financial backers of the contest maybe they would miss our contribution!
Bell Fry, UK

It's blatantly obvious that countries with close neighbours have a huge advantage over island nations as the final result showed. On the other hand second place is probably better then first because we don't have to dish out about �9 million to host it!
Rob, Malta

The Eurovision song contest is becoming more absurd every year. As in European competitive team sports, national pride has nothing to do with national culture. When most songs are in English and sound rather the same, the winners represent only themselves. This sorry state is ackowledged and advanced by most competitors. The question shouldn't be whether Latvia is a worthy winner, but whether the Eurovision is a worthy contest. Indeed, even the voting is biased, as Cyprus and Greece unashamingly demonstrated. Is this Europe's view of multiculturalism and fair competition?
Yuval Filmus, Israel

OK, obviously there are some biased votes going on like the age old Greece and Cyprus collaboration. But you have to remember that neighbouring countries, especially the new ones, will have a similar culture and taste. So the voting will reflect this to some degree . . .
Colin Walker, UK

It's just a bit of a laugh, the only disappointing thing is when the songs are actually good enough not to be funny Mat Bettinson, UK

Yes. Catchy tune, excellent choreography. On the whole, though, the contest has become a thoroughly boring, pointless succession of shallow pop songs, Indistinguishable from each other and sung in English. Still tacky, no longer charming - more like the attack of the clones.
Zig, UK

Terry Wogan was right, the contest is more about voting for friends or neighbours than the quality of music on display. It's a shame that entire nations are so narrowminded, exactly what do they think they can achieve? It's no wonder that the UK and USA continue to dominate the global music market.
Terry Robertson, UK

The Eurovision song contest is today just a Miss Europe show. The prettiest girl wins.
Kevin, Finland

Well, the only thing that distinguished that song from all the others really was the crazy striptease affair with the lead singer's costume. Ever since the introduction of national phone voting, the regional bias has been quite obvious, so there is a lot of pot luck involved, and it seems to me that it only takes a gimmick like the costume business to tip the balance in one nation's favour.
Jeremy Frewton, UK

Loads of the voting is biased, who cares? It's just a bit of a laugh, the only disappointing thing is when the songs are actually good enough not to be funny. Wogan's dry commentary on the whole thing is perfect. If the UK wins that means we'll have to host it and maybe Wogan will have to take it a bit more seriously and that wouldn't be any fun!
Mat Bettinson, UK

The Latvian song was nice, the presentation was professional, but I preferred the Malta song.

It was amusing to watch the voting for friends, e.g. Cyprus voting for Greece (horrible, awful song) and vica versa.

Does anyone, though, take the ESC seriously?

I'm just glad the UK beat the French...
Hugh, UK

This particular contest brings out the best in people around the world, uniting them in the purity of musical celebration Phineas Thrange, Upper Volta

Latvia deserved to do well in the contest, but surely not to win. If it hadn't been for the fact that so many of Latvia's neighbour countries were in the contest and were so generous on points to Latvia, victory would no doubt have gone to Malta. Surely victory belongs to the country producing the best song, not to the country with the friendliest neighbours...
Stephen Parkins, United Kingdom

Latvia's triumph is confirmation of a new Baltic Europop dynasty. They now have the chance to impose their own musical tastes on the rest of the continent. We may be witnessing the start of a seismic shift in Europop tectonics.
Leonard Loughborough, Belgium

I am sick and tired of the suggestions that there is any bias in the voting of the Eurovision song contest winner. It is an offence to the many people who dedicate themselves to the preparation of this wonderful yearly contest to suggest otherwise. This particular contest brings out the best in people around the world, uniting them in the purity of musical celebration.
Phineas Thrange, Upper Volta

Eurovision seems to be getting fairer now that many countries have televotes. Perhaps they just understand the songs of neighbouring countries or find them culturally familiar. Perhaps we are just jealous that Ireland were not present to give us their points!
Flash Wilson, UK

No! Cyprus should have!
Yiannis Christodoulides, Cyprus

Of course the voting is biased, but as everyone is biased it sort of cancels out! Richard Boesch, UK

Of course they shouldn't have won - the song wouldn't chart in the top 1000 in UK, but I suppose that's not the point - Eurovision criteria is exhibiting dollops of cheese with a trans-boundary nursery rhyme sing-along quality. Plus - getting lots of points from your neighbouring countries!

But who cares?
Ed Gyde, UK

Latvia was an OK song but Malta and the UK's songs were much better. Terry Wogan was on absolute top form as well, they should give him an award for another great effort!
Paul, UK

It can't be a coincidence that our pacier songs have done well. I think to win, the UK has to do songs with a bit of gusto, not these melancholic ballads.
Geoffrey, UK

The Latvian entry was actually really catchy. It was far superior to most of the tripe I have seen on Eurovision over the years! Of course the voting is biased, but as everyone is biased it sort of cancels out!
Richard Boesch, UK

The Warsaw Pact seems to live again in the Eurovision Song Contest! At least we voted for the Maltese and they for us. Much better song. Surprised the Danes did so badly.
Alex Harper, UK

Yes, I think the Latvian song was the best on the night, really catchy and really "eurovision". Although how Malta got so high I'll never know, but there was some seriously "i'll vote for my nearest neighbour" type politics going on which needs to be sorted out.
Dan, UK

Latvia's song is talentless rubbish. UK should have won! The event has the feel of a fix.
Simon Schofield, UK

No wonder the UK is wary of Europe when even something as trivial as Eurovision is used to make political cronyism so obvious! Gary Middleton, Guernsey

I thought the whole thing was a sham. But good luck to the talented Jessica Garlick with her career, I think she will be the only act we hear from again out of last night's sorry line-up.
Mark, UK

I'm Estonian living in the UK and I really, really liked Jessica Garlick and still do. Latvia was one of the least favourites for me.I never thought Latvia would win. Well, good for them and everything but the song was no good. I was hoping that Malta, UK or France would do well but "hey" what can we do?
Maigi Symons, UK

I think the whole competition is a complete farce. The quality of music from 99% of the countries is, as usual, poor in the extreme.
Richard R., Wales

If England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all voted separately and for each other then we might win.
Emma, England

The Latvian entry was jolly and uplifting but nothing special and it was very badly sung. It sounded flat and monotomous. If it hadn't been for the music being so loud this would have been thought to be very bad if heard at the local kareoke night at the pub.
Kate, Sweden

Latvia shouldn't have won but since when is Eurovision only about the song? Well done Jessica on coming third, no easy feat considering most of Europe hate us. Feel really sorry for Denmark as I thought they'd come up with a nice song... for which they got relegated. Oh, the woes of Eurovision.
Dave M, England

Terry Wogan, for all his flippancy, has hit the nail on the head. How do you stop neighbouring countries giving maximum points to each other? No wonder the UK is wary of Europe when even something as trivial as Eurovision is used to make political cronyism so obvious!
Gary Middleton, Guernsey

It's about time we took a different approach and submit for the next one the worst song and not the best! Alastair Davis, UK

It does not matter who won the Eurovision contest, it is only supposed to be a laugh. We should be more concerned with who wins general elections and the corruption in them.
Louise Keane, UK

I was amazed that Latvia's entry was anywhere in the top five let alone winning this year's contest. What a shame for Jessica Garlick, who has such great talent. Maybe it was the wrong type of song for the contest. Having worked in Eastern Europe and listened to the their musical style this type of track just would of not appeal to many of the countries. I believe that the voting has to be biased, the winning song was just lyrically and musically very poor, as was the women trying to sing it. It certainly will not be a hit over here.
Claire Bond, UK

Latvia had one of the strongest musical acts and certainly the best visual act, so I can't see why they shouldn't have won. As for Britain, the singer was OK, the song was awful.
Guy Malfait, UK (from Belgium)

The majority of the songs in this year's Eurovision plumbed new depths of banality, unoriginality and derivativeness - and that was the good ones. Latvia deserved to be there in the shakeout because it was one of only three or (at the most) four entries that had any merit whatsoever. The performance probably clinched it - it was lively. Most of the others had all the vitality of a fishmonger's cold slab. So there.
Ruari McCallion, UK

I didn't realise anyone watched it thinking that the best songs win!

It's about time we took a different approach and submit for the next one the worst song and not the best!

If you want to win then I would have thought it was fairly obvious that we no longer put in the Boom Bang a Bang type ones that seem to do well!
Alastair Davis, London, UK

Latvia had one of the best songs and definitely the best stage show. Well done to them. Oh and please don't tell any of my friends that I watched the Eurovision Jamie Turner, UK

It's about time that the votes should all be down to the viewers who are interested in the music and not the politics. The jury system should be abolished. This is long overdue. If this doesn't come, then Britain has no chance. No chance with Spain thanks to Gibraltar, no chance with France thanks to Sangatte. No chance with anybody. On another point, why are non-European states like Israel, Russia and Turkey in the competition? I voted for Israel purely on the basis of a good song, but they are not European. Turkey has a small part of land which is only geographically European and Russia is only geographically European on the western side of the Ural Mountains. Eurovision is in need of a dire shake-up.
Mark O'Brien, UK

Biased voting or not, Latvia was certainly the most catchy song this year - the one you remembered if you were hearing it for the first time which, of course, most of Europe were. I was convinced it would win when I downloaded and first heard it! The visual effects and splendid choreography of the act on the night beat the favourites hands down. It deserved to win! I obviously missed something with the Malta song - never saw that as a strong contender. And Denmark's moody girl deserved to do much better than those ridiculous Slovenian drag queens!
Dave Edwards, United Kingdom

Latvia deserved to put us down into third spot. The only people to rival them were Malta who claimed a well deserved second place. Critcs who moan of regional voting have good cause, everyone seems to vote for the country next to them. But with 24 countries it does seem to balance out with no one getting an unfair advantage. Latvia had one of the best songs and definitely the best stage show. Well done to them. Oh and please don't tell any of my friends that I watched the Eurovision.
Jamie Turner, UK

Slovenia were the best by far, too good for Eurovision Philip, UK

A deserved win, I'd say, the competition wasn't great. Here in Germany though nobody can understand the 12 points our Corinna got. Hmmm,maybe its because it wasn't good.
Anna, Germany

It was an excellent Eurovision Song Contest. However, the introduction of televoting to the majority of countries has shown that people are voting for neighbouring countries. Personally I think Ira Losco of Malta was amazing and deserved to win the Contest. Maybe next year.
James Lawford, England, UK

I think it was absolutely disgusting that the Latvian song won. It was truly dreadful and I will be suprised if any of the BBC radio stations even play it as it was so bad. Also I am totally dismayed at all the tactical voting that goes on. eg Baltic states voting for each other and Balkan states voting for each other. It makes a complete mockery of the whole competion, I thought it was supposed to be a vote on the quality of the song, not a political back slapping occasion.
Graham Fox, England

Of course the voting is biased, every country has it's tastes in music, why should every country like the UK entry? The best song won though!
Jippo, UK

The voting stinks. Malta should be the winner.
Gunn Lundmo, Norway

Slovenia were the best by far, too good for Eurovision. Of the rest Latvia probably deserved their win, although decades behind Slovenia, Latvia still took Eurovision to new heights.
Philip, UK

I'm pleased that Latvia has won, but I think it's a real shame that they had to sing in English to do so. This has also been the pattern for the last few years, since restrictions have been relaxed. As a result, the Eurovision has lost a lot of its attraction for me (as a language enthusiast). I'm making it my policy to vote only for a country which sings in its own language! (It would have been Slovenia this time, but the lines were closed...)
Matthew Reeve, England

Nah, the Slovenian TV trolly dollies should have walked it! Tim, UK

Latvia's and Malta's performances were the best during the show. So the two horse race was just. However Malta is a small country with no neighbours. That was Latvia's advantage. Next year's contest will once again miss our beautiful weather (might be an excuse to give Malta some more points).
Joseph Borg, Malta

Whether Latvia was a worthy winner I really can't tell.What I can tell, though, is that I regretted watching it.A terribly tacky contest and the songs were equally bad. I really don't see the point of its existence any longer, when most of the songs are now sung in English, sound the same and they are all performed by half-naked dressed singers, whose ambigious musical talents are beyond any description! This year's competition was definitely among the worst and I believe we should seriously consider abstaining from such a low down ''singing'' contest.
Rod, England

I hate Eurovision, but my wife insists on watching it. Out of all the entries this year, the Latvian song was the only one that stood out. It didn't sound manufactured and mediocre, like all the other entries (including our own). What's more, the dance routine was fun, sexy and watchable. If more of the entries were like that, I wouldn't dread this time of year so much.
John Kearney, UK

Nah, the Slovenian TV trolly dollies should have walked it!

Britain needs to look to what it does best: camp icons, Vegas legends and gutsy divas. George Michael, Mica Paris, Right Said Fred, Engelbert, Beverley Knight, Ruby Thomas, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, David McAlmont. Or what about Kylie? (the singer doesn't need to be a Brit). In fact, given the fact that London has welcomed her to its heart, why doesn't Madonna put her head above the parapet?
Tim, UK

What do Britain have to do to win? They have to perform a catchy song, not the same old tripe that we seem to see year after year. How many times do the UK team have to see a "poppy" song with a nice beat win, before they realise what it takes? Do these people know anything about music. Oh well. By the time the UK teams realise that, it will be too late.
Greg Heywood, UK

The UK were never going to win with that (very good) song - it wasn't the right kind for Eurovision IS, Cambridge

What does Britain have to do to win? Enter a good song to start!
Chris Hill, Portugal (ex-pat)

Greece should have won for giving me the funniest few minutes of the evening.
Graham, UK

I think it is great that Latvia won it for the first time. The newer countries in the competition bring a breath of fresh air. In the UK, we gripe about how bad the contest is, so we don't deserve to win (although Jessica Garlick was great last night). Last year's win for Estonia bought a sense of national pride to Estonians and so I hope and I'm sure the Latvians will feel the same way.
Will Croft, UK

Latvia was the best visually, and that's probably what won it for them. Malta was the better song where memorable tunes go. However, if you judge solely on the quality of the singer's voice, then France stood way above everyone else, in my opinion.
Shmuliq, Coulsdon, England

Personally, I thought that Malta should have won, but I believe that the Mediterranean vote (and the UK vote) was skewed to them just as the Eastern European vote was skewed to Latvia. Forget the results and think of the goodwill created by Eurovision. We all won.
Paul Pekar, UK

The UK were never going to win with that (very good) song - it wasn't the right kind for Eurovision. However, Latvia should never have won: their song was awful and the singer wasn't even in tune!!
IS, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Eurovision is supposed to be a celebration of music, not a political battleground. Viewers in Sweden and Belgium were actually told by their presenters NOT to vote for Israel for political reasons. I think that this is a disgusting thing to have occurred and I believe that these two countries should be banned from next year's contest by the EBU for this outrageous abuse of their responsibility.
Nir, Israel

I think many nations take Eurovision far too seriously. All this looking out for the country next door takes away some of the fun from the contest and that's what it is all about. It should be a big party for all nations. Congratulations to Latvia. A well deserved victory in full Eurovsion sprit.
Robert Sydee, United Kingdom

I picked Latvia in the office sweepstake and didn't think I stood a chance of winning, I think the voting system is spot-on.
Mike, UK

Latvia was the best and Jessica Garlick was very dull considering all the noise that had been made before the contest Edward James, England

The UK should dissassociate itself from Eurovision. The style of show, and the music in it are so painfully dated and naff. We would be better out of it. Let the Eastern Euro politics fight between themselves. We're better than this...
Patrick, UK

I think a lot of countries steer clear of things that are too polished. It used to be that famous singers stood less of a chance - now it's the case that good singers have a built-in disadvantage.

Tearing off part of your clothing during the song seems to work, too. Sadly, Jessica G had done this before going on stage!
Bill, UK

Why do charges of bias fly after every UK defeat (in any international arena)?
Bruce Rogers, Latvia

I just finished hosting my Eurovision Song Contest party here in Toronto. Who won isn't important. The fun was watching my European guests (including me) squabbling over the scoring and the Canadian guests being totally bewidlered by the whole event.
David, Canada (Brit)

Latvia was the best and Jessica Garlick was very dull considering all the noise that had been made before the contest. My belief is that we (British) are not good at anything and should stick to what we know best (that we are useless at everything = LAST)
Edward James, England

Jessica should have won. None of the other contestants deserved anything but a frown with the exception of France.
Yvette, U.A.E.

How can the whole of Europe vote in five minutes!! I really couldn't believe the result, especially the favourite, Germany, coming 17th!! I guess that's just Eurovision and you have to laugh really.
Tom Skinner, UK

I think that Latvia is really a worthy winner. Latvia had stylish song and great show. Great Britain had a really great song, one of my favourites. Just add good show elements and you can be the winner! And some good luck is needed. No grants there for anybody. All the very best for everybody!
Enn Talp, Estonia

Ira Losco deserved to win. She gave a wonderful performance and the song was great. The voting is obviously biased.....as always. Latvia won because they had an original performance.
Alessandra Valletta, Malta

Well, as usual it was a joke. The Latvia song was terrible as indeed last year's one was too.

The best songs of the night were without doubt, the UK, Malta and Estonia.

I enjoyed the show but the voting system is as always unfair and biased on some occasions. At least we beat the French if nothing else!
Chris Jones, UK

Well done Latvia. It was a toss up for me between Latvia and France. I voted in the end for France. If we could ohavevoted for our own song then I would have voted for Jessica as this was our best entry in many years since Katrina and the Waves. It's about time that countries stopped voting for each other because they are neighbours. This may happen when everybody gets the chance to vote via telephone.
Keith Hitchings, United Kingdom

It's clear that most of the countries gave the 12 points to either their next door neighbour or their favourite country. Greece giving 12 points to Cyprus and Cyprus giving them 12 points. Come on! I respect Latvia's song. It was the best performance and a catchy song.
Perry, England

Latvia is a worthy winner - not only an exciting song but by far the most fun performance of the night. Too many of the other performers just stood around, barely moving.
Colin, Germany

There are only two countries in its region with whom Latvia has any history of friendly political relations: Estonia and Lithuania (which came 23rd, so any neighbourly voting didn't do it any good!). The votes of two countries alone were not enough to win the Latvians the contest: lots of countries voted heavily for their song, indicating it had wide appeal.

Anyway, Britons can hardly complain about others' biased votes: how many times has the UK pathetically offered its twelve points to Ireland? (Not that we get a lot in return...)

I must admit, though, there was something amusing about the embarrassed tone adopted by the Cypriot presenter as she announced "and Greece... twelve points".

Eurovision is a terrific event and I hope the BBC enter the UK next year.
Gary Hellen, Brit living in Cyprus

The show was outstanding, I'm very pleased how the organisers put the whole show together, but I still think Malta, UK or Estonia should have won the competition. But as you can see, the Latvians produced the best show and that did the trick. So congratulations Latvia and Riga, let's see if you can put up a show equally as good as this year's was, I guess we'll have to see about that!
Silver Hansen, Estonia

Thanks to Estonia for producing a really good show. It was a pleasure to watch. We had to laugh at some of the entrants and how out of tune some were. But in the end, the Mediterranean's annual block voting was trumped by the Scando/Baltic alliance. Well done Latvia though, an electric performance.
Geraint, UK

New rule proposal:

1. Lyrics should be in home country's language

2. No country jury

3. No tele-vote

A single international jury, as in any serious international competition.

Having said that, did anyone know that Spain was the only country to send an amateur singer and chorus, not a top model, and yet come 7th?
Luis Lopez-Henares, Spain

Am I alone amongst my countrymen and women in believing that our entry was appalling? Having not watched Pop Idol, I'm not aware of Ms Garlick's previous work. But whilst she could sing, the song itself was weak, bland and instantly forgettable, whilst whoever styled her should be banished to work with Greece next year. The Eurovision proved, yet again, that it could produce dreadful songs with even worse presentation (did anyone notice how often the cameras shot into view?) and what about those presenters?

Another classic vintage. Long may Terry Wogan reign supreme.
Ben Christie, UK

It was again seen that the song has nothing to do with the voting. Latvia wasn't one of the worst songs at all... quite the middle way. But in my opinion Finland did not deserve the 20th position, but neither to win - purely impossible ever to win. So, I actually do not see any reason why Finland should even take part in the "vote the neighbour country instead of the best song" competition at all. Pure politics, a joke actually!!
Mika, Finland

As a Greek, I apologise for our entry in the Eurovision contest. But don't blame Rakintzis. He actually believed he was pretty cool in those hideous costumes. Honestly, I thought UK should have won. And yes, we have a voting block going on with Cyprus, but that's nothing compared to the Scandinavian/Baltic alliance, right?
Michael Zambetis, Greece

Since when were Turkey, Cyprus, and Israel European nations? Why not include Syria, Lebanon, Jordan?
John, UK

Will Ricky Martin be issuing any kind of legal action for use of his song "She Bangs"?

Will the Dressmakers from Bucks Fizz being doing something as well?
Norm, Luxembourg

Nir, Israel: viewers in Sweden were NOT told not to vote for Israel. One of the commentators said he didn't like the song, the other one said that it was likely that the current political situation would put people off voting for Israel and the first one then stated that he wouldn't vote for it, obviously referring to his first statement about not liking the song. I wish people would stop jumping to conclusions and LISTEN to what was said before they speak.

Apart from that, is it just me or was Terry Wogan a bit off form this year??? The Estonian presenters and the little postcards were made for ridicule but our dear Mr Wogan was uncharacteristically quiet... Please tell me the Danish reaction to last year hasn't made him mellow!!!!
Anon, UK

I can't believe British people get so uptight about the Eurovision. It is clear to me that you neither understand the spirit nor the tradition of the contest. Jessica Garlick's song was beautifully delivered but it just isn't a Eurovision song and so was never likely to win. Latvia were fun, dynamic, and catchy. They deserved to win!
Ed Gardiner, Dublin

I also don't think that Latvia deserved to win, but what is wrong with you English people? You laugh at us that we, Estonians, take the contest seriously, and look at yourself now.

If the UK or Malta or any other country that is being really hypocritical had won, I am sure that you would have got your main points from France, Ireland etc. And you yourself voted for Latvia, not the Baltics.
Kati, Estonia

Am I the only one who thinks Lithuania should have won?
Robert Stewart, UK