Bulgaria scores record-high second place in Eurovision 2017

Of the 12 most recent Eurovision winners, nine have performed between the 17th and 22nd slot on the night.

Portugal's Salvador Sobral has triumphed at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with a jazz-style ballad written by his sister Luisa.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 will take place in Portugal.

See all of the action from Eurovision 2017 as it happened here!

Sobral sang his Amar Pelos Dois (Love For Both) in a high, clear tenor accompanied by quiet strings and a piano. "This is a victory for music. music isn't fireworks, music is feeling".

Runner-up Kristian Kostov of Bulgaria wasn't short on feeling - his power-ballad "Beautiful Mess" was awash in melodrama, the singer appearing nearly wrung out by romantic turmoil.

In third place came Moldova, followed by Belgium.

Italian Francesco Gabbani invoked Hamlet and Desmond Morris's anthropology book "The Naked Ape" in his song, while a gorilla-costumed dancer boogied alongside him.

Eurovision, in its 62nd year, is aimed at apolitical entertainment.

It's been over 60 years since and the competition has grown to 42 participating countries.

And rounding out the top five was Sweden.

During the contest, it emerged that Kostov had performed in Crimea soon after its annexation by Moscow - the reason Ukraine banned Russia's singer.

He said: "This is IBA, Channel 1 calling from Jerusalem".

In 2009, the EBU nixed the Georgian entry "We Don't Wanna Put In", a dig at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine won the right to host the event by virtue of winning the event previous year.

The acrimony is ironic, since Eurovision was founded in 1956 to bring the recently warring countries of Europe together.

The contest, which aired in the USA on Logo, has launched the careers of the likes of ABBA, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, and Olivia Newton-John since its inception in 1956.