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The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, following Azerbaijan's win in the 2011 Contest. It was won by singer Loreen from Sweden with the song "Euphoria". The two semi-finals were held on 22 and 24 May 2012, and the final was held on 26 May 2012. Forty-two countries announced their participation in the contest, with Montenegro returning, having last taken part in 2009, and Poland and Armenia withdrawing.The runners-up were Russia, which finished second, and Serbia, which finished third. They were followed by the host country, Azerbaijan, which finished in 4th place. Albania achieved its first Top 5 placing, finishing in 5th place. Germany, Italy and Spain were the three members of the "Big Five" that managed to rank within the top 10, finishing in 8th, 9th and 10th places respectively. The venue for the 2012 Contest was the Baku Crystal Hall in the Azerbaijani capital. On 16 May 2011, it was announced that a special concert complex with 23,000 seats for the 2012 Contest was to be built near National Flag Square in Baku.Three days later, organisers announced that they may use the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium which contains 37,000 seats, or the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex.On 4 August 2011, it was confirmed that the laying of foundations for the Baku Crystal Hall had started near the National Flag Square, but did not confirm that this was the location. The foundations were completed on 14 October 2011, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, still did not confirm the location. Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, which is currently under repairs to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in September--October 2012, was to be used as a back-up option.On 8 September 2011, Azad Azerbaijan TV (ATV) reported that Baku Crystal Hall would be the venue of Eurovision Song Contest 2012, despite not being the host broadcaster of the contest. No formal confirmation was made at the time by the EBU. On 31 October 2011, Ismayil Omarov, the director general of Azerbaijani national broadcaster İctimai Television announced that a decision on the venue choice would be taken by the steering committee in January 2012. On 25 January 2012, it was confirmed that the Baku Crystal Hall would be the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Even though the venue had an extended capacity of 23,000 people, only 18,000 people were able to attend each show.