Russia seizes Eurovision title

Dima Bilan said he had faith in his song, Believe, and won Russia's first Eurovision crown in a flashy performance in Belgrade that included an ice skater gliding around him as he sang.

"Dreams can come true," Bilan said at a news conference after the show. "Russia believed in our victory."

Bilan and his R&B ballad beat out Ukraine's Ani Lorak, with her disco track Shady Lady, and Secret Combination by Greece's Kalomira in front of 20,000 flag-waving fans Saturday night at Europe's most enduring and gaudy song competition.

Watched by an estimated audience of 100 million, the Russian won 272 points from viewers from 43 countries, who voted for the winner by phone calls and text messages.

Bilan's performance at Belgrade Arena included Hungarian violinist Edvin Marton and Russian Olympic skater Yevgeny Plyushchenko, who pirouetted on artificial ice.

It was the singer's second appearance at the finals in as many years. In 2006, he placed secondto Finland's Lordi. Bilan is a big pop star in Russia, where he's been named best artist at the country's MTV Awards forthree years in a row.

He's recorded an album in English with Timbaland, which includeda duet with Canadian singer Nelly Furtado.

The competition, in its 53rd year, was held in Serbia after the country's singer, Marija Serifovic, won last year's title with her ballad Molitva (Prayer ).

Serifovic launched the glitzy event, which included guest stars such as Bosnian musician Goran Bregovic and formerL.A. Lakers basketball star Vlade Divac.

Twenty contestants made it to Saturday's final round after surviving two semi-final rounds earlier in the week.They included a band of Latvian "pirates," a Finnish heavy rock group, a 75-year-old Croatian rapper and French dance musician Sebastian Tellier.

Performers from Britain, France, Germany and Spain, who are the biggest sponsors of the event, and Serbia, the host country, went straight into the final without having tocompete inthe preliminary rounds.

The event was also a showcase for Serbia, which had been viewed as a pariah state in 1990s under the late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Officials threw a highly-organized party. During the finals, a huge screen in front of Belgrade City Hall beamed the show to thousands. After the winner was announced, fireworks lit the skies.