Emmelie de Forest of Denmark has won the 58th annual Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmo with her song Only Teardrops.
The 20-year-old singer, who was the bookies' favorite, secured victory with 281 points.
"I am so overwhelmed and surprised, I was dying in the Green Room and so nervous as it was very close with the other countries. Now I'm very happy and I just want to thank Europe for believing in me and this song", she said.
Farid Mammadov of Azerbaijan secured the second spot with 234 points and Ukrainian artist Zlata Ognevich finished third with 214.
Britain's Bonnie Taylor, who sang Believe In Me, finished 19th out of 26 acts with 23 points.
"What an incredible atmosphere. I really enjoyed that performance, I got out there and gave it some welly," she told reporters after her performance, "When all those lights came on it felt like magic, all twinkling lights everywhere. I really hope Europe enjoyed it."
It is now 16 years since Britain last won the competition, with Love Shine a Light by Katrina and the Waves in 1997.
Ireland's Ryan Dolan, who performed the dance track Only Love Survives, came in last place with just five points.
An estimated international audience of 120 million people tuned in to watch this years' event.
Scroll down to take a look at event highlights in pictures...
Emmelie de Forest (C) of Denmark celebrates holding her trophy after she won the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Only Teardrops" at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersDenmark's Emmelie De Forest, winner of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, sings "Only Teardrops" at the finals of the contest held at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersEmmelie de Forest (C) of Denmark celebrates holding her trophy after she won the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Only Teardrops" at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersDenmark's Emmelie De Forest holds her trophy after winning the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Only Teardrops" during the finals of the contest held at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersEmmelie de Forest of Denmark performs the song "Only Teardrops" during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013ReutersEmmelie de Forest (C) of Denmark performs the song "Only Teardrops" during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReuterscReutersBonnie Tyler of Britain performs the song "Believe in Me" during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersFarid Mammadov (R) of Azerbaijan performs the song "Hold Me” during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersZlata Ognevich (in air) of Ukraine performs "Gravity" during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.ReutersKrista Siegfrids (L) of Finland performs the song "Marry me" during the final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest at the Malmo Opera Hall in Malmo May 18, 2013.Reuters
