Crown goes to Netta of Israel with her quirky entry Toy, in memorable contest after stage invader interrupted UK’s song
Image copyright AFP/Getty
Israel's Netta has won the Eurovision Song Contest for her quirky dance song Toy - complete with its trademark chicken dance.
She had been an early favourite, but the vote went down to the wire with Cyprus finishing in second place.
Netta thanked juries and the public for "choosing different" as she lifted the glass microphone trophy.
UK entrant SuRie, whose performance was interrupted by a stage invader, finished 24th out of the 26 countries.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption SuRie came 24th out of 26 countries
She was part-way through singing Storm when a man, with a rucksack on his back, ran on and grabbed the microphone from her hands. She was given the chance to perform again but declined.
SuRie later tweeted that she knew "anything could happen" on stage.
Netta - full name Netta Barzilai - picked up a total of 529 points to take the title, while bookies' favourite Eleni Foureira from Cyprus got 436 points, with Fuego.
Austria had topped the leaderboard of the 63rd annual contest after the juries' votes had been given, with Cesar Sampson's Nobody But You the surprise frontrunner.
But it became clear it was between Netta and Eleni when the viewers' votes started coming in.
Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Eleni Foureira singing Feugo
On stage, the Israeli singer said of her win: "Thank you so much for choosing different. Thank you so much for accepting differences between us.
"Thank you for celebrating diversity. I love my country!"
The 25-year-old later added: "It's an empowerment song for everybody, for everybody who's been struggling being themselves - struggling with their bosses, with the government, with someone stepping on them.
"I've been told so many times that I'm not pretty enough, that I'm not smart enough, that I'm not skinny enough to do what I want to do."
Analysis by Lucy Todd, BBC News entertainment reporter in Lisbon
Image copyright AFP Getty Image caption Netta looked shocked by her win
This is not the first time Eurovision has rewarded the person who sees themselves as an outsider struggling to fit in.
Conchita Wurst winning in 2013 and before her Dana International in 1998 suggests Europe embraces those who are true to themselves.
Netta told BBC News she had always been told she should "diet a little bit", wear black because it was "more flattering", and to "sing like Adele".
But she decided not to follow these rules: "We're only here for a minute, why are we busy being unhappy?"
A decidedly happy Netta spoke to the international press after her victory, and told us she was "proud and honoured" - although it was still all "a little hard to take in".
In the interview, the 29-year also revealed she had a secret weapon during her performance. She said she had been given her late grandmother's ring by her father shortly before the contest. She said the ring gave her "power" and "a lot of confidence" for the competition.
Netta also admitted she had no idea what was going on during the results stage of the show, because she didn't have her glasses on to see the scoreboard. She said she had to piece together the results from the shrieks of her team around her.
Finally, when asked the first thing she would do when she got home she replied simply: "Houmous!"
Asked about the close race with Cyprus, Netta said: "I always said that comparing between musical genres is funny - and comparing between musicians is a little bit peculiar... I was competing with myself."
She said everything about the moment of winning was "a black blur", and that she thought "what is happening?" - partly because she couldn't see the points on the board without her glasses.
Netta said she never felt she had to deliver a message, adding: "I just had to be me, no matter what my size is."
This year's final was held in Lisbon, Portugal, with the 2019 contest now set to take place in Israel. The last time Israel won Eurovision was 20 years ago, when Dana International was victorious with Diva.
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Now that the winner of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest is known we can exclusively reveal the outcome of the two Semi-Finals that took place earlier this week. Check out how your Semi-Final favourites did!
First Semi-Final 1. Israel (283 points) 2. Cyprus (262 points) 3. Czech Republic (232 points) 4. Austria (231 points) 5. Estonia (201 points) 6. Ireland (179 points) 7. Bulgaria (177 points) 8. Albania (162 points) 9. Lithuania (119 points) 10. Finland (108 points) 11. Azerbaijan (94 points) 12. Belgium (91 points) 13. Switzerland (86 points) 14. Greece (81 points) 15. Armenia (79 points) 16. Belarus (65 points) 17. Croatia (63 points) 18. F.Y.R. Macedonia (24 points) 19. Iceland (15 points) Second Semi-Final 1. Norway (266 points) 2. Sweden (254 points) 3. Moldova (235 points) 4. Australia (212 points) 5. Denmark (204 points) 6. Ukraine (179 points) 7. The Netherlands (174 points) 8. Slovenia (132 points) 9. Serbia (117 points) 10. Hungary (111 points) 11. Romania (107 points) 12. Latvia (106 points) 13. Malta (101 points) 14. Poland (81 points) 15. Russia (65 points) 16. Montenegro (40 points) 17. San Marino (28 points) 18. Georgia (24 points)
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It's time, at last, for the Eurovision 2018 final, live from Lisbon, Portugal! We've already seen some brilliant and frankly down right bizarre (those creepy robots and mannequins, anyone?) performances so far during the two semi-finals, and now the best of the bunch have been whittled down to the 26 performances we're going to see tonight.
With a lineup including former Eurovision winner Alexander Rybak, X Factor and The Voice of Finland runner-up Saara Aalto, Britain's Got Talent 2012 finalist Ryan O'Shaughnessy and Australian Idol runner-up Jessica Mauboy, it's looking like a competitive year.
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Of course, singing for us this year, SuRie will be representing the UK with 'Storm'.
The bookies' odds may not be so favourable, but could SuRie's place in the running order improve her chances of doing well? Take a look at the full running order to find out when your favourite will be taking to the stage right here.
And while we've got you here, you may want to refresh your memory with our gallery compilation of every single Eurovision winner since 1956. Now that'll impress the room at your Eurovision party!
Join us from 8pm UK time for all the latest on the night's performances – and the all-important vote. Why not simultaneously follow along with the action as Graham Norton anchors BBC One's broadcast, with Ken Bruce hosting the simultaneous Radio 2 coverage?
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