Eurovision will officially open in Moscow on Victory Day

The capital's authorities approved the terms of the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be held from May 1 to 16. At the same time, the semi -finals will take place on May 12 and 14, and the final on May 16 in the Olympic sports complex. The corresponding order was signed by Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, Vesti TV channel reports.

The official opening ceremony of the competition will be held on May 9 at 20:00 on the University Square on the Sparrow Hills, and the closing ceremony on the final day, at 23:30 in the Gostiny Dvor, a source in the city administration said.

Two months before the competition, delegations of countries participating in it will arrive in Moscow in order to discuss issues related to the preparation of Eurovision-2009. "The costs of preparing and conducting the competition will be carried out at the expense of the federal and metropolitan budgets, as well as the assistance of the attracted sponsorship funds," the source noted.

The working group of the metropolitan government for the preparation and conduct of the competition was headed by the deputy mayor of Moscow Valery Vinogradov.

The city administration also noted that in the event that the organizers of Eurovision consider it necessary to change the time of work of urban ground transport and the subway, the Moscow authorities will meet them.

In May 2008, Russia for the first time in history won the main European song contest "Eurovision". "Crystal microphone" from Belgrade took Dima Bilan . His composition Believe me scored a record 272 points.