Eurovision Song Contest 2006 Hallelujah" was the first ever hard rock song to win the contest, since Eurovision is normally associated with softer pop music and schlager. This was Finland's first victory in Eurovision after waiting forty-five years. It is also noted that they scored the same amount of points in the semi-final and the grand final. The hosts of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens were Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, the Greek representative at Eurovision in 2004 and 2009, and the Greek American television presenter and actress, Maria Menounos. In the semi-final, both the hosts sang Katrina and the Waves' contest-winning "Love Shine
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Ireland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 after Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), the Irish broadcaster, internally selected the Irish traditional group Dervish to represent them at the 2007 contest, held in Helsinki, Finland. Although RTÉ internally selected the artist to represent Ireland at the contest, the song that Dervish sung was selected by the Irish public during "The Late Late Show" on 16 February 2007. The song selected was "They Can't Stop the Spring", which was composed by John Waters and Tommy Moran. Having automatically qualified to the final after coming in