The Eurovision Song Contest introduced a new voting system this year,one intended to keep the identity of the competition's winner until the last possible second.

Under the new system,the votes from the professional jury were announced by crossing live to each country. Those scores firmly placed Australia in the lead.

The second phase of the voting - audience-voted"televotes"- was this year added instead of averaged,and the points were applied from lowest scoring country to highest.

In effect it strung out the tension and left the auditorium guessing which of the three strongest performing countries - Australia,Ukraine or Russia - would eventually claim the win.

Australia's presence in the competition continues to perplex many,even if our presence in the host city is one which is met with a warm embrace.

Sweden,which gave Australia it's 12-point score,was particularly generous,both in competition,and around the city where there was a huge wave of affection for Im,and for her song,Sound of Silence.

Whether we return next year remains an unanswered question. Last year we got a wild card. This year we were personally invited by the host city,Sweden.

Next year? It's difficult to say,but with a score of 511 to our name,it would be a shame to deny Australia a shot at the crown.