Greek beauty Helena Paparizou swept the Eurovision 2005 Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine thus bringing the major show to Greece in 2006.

Helena's song "My Number One" overcame the rivalry of artists from 24 countries gathering 230 points by telephone voting in 39 countries.

The surprise runner-up was Malta's Chiara. Romania's Luminita Anghel placed third in the continent-wide telephone voting.

Eurovision 2005 was Helena's second participation in the contest after in 2001 she took part in the competition with Antique, a group she set up with her childhood friend Niko at the age of 17.

Helena's personal history echoes the contest's ethos of uniting Europe's diverse people and cultures: she was born and raised in Sweden and still lives there. "I am happy that this prize finally goes to Greece . . . I wish to welcome you to Greece next year," she said. But, she added "I think this prize is a big honour for Sweden as well."

The pan-European musical talent show, which celebrated its 50th anniversary Saturday in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, was watched by at least 150 million viewers.

This year's event was hosted in the Ukraine after it won the 2004 contest with a leather-clad performance of Wild Dances by singer Ruslana, who sang during the event.

Bulgaria's Kaffe also took part in the contest but did not earn votes enough to advance for the final battle in Kiev. Still it earmarked the history of the contest with the first ever presentation of the country at the musical festival.

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