23 countries participated in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest. Bosnia & Herzegovina, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Lithuania and Greece all returned to the contest, replacing the seven countries with the lowest average result in the past five contests: Romania, Switzerland, FYR Macedonia, Finland, Belgium, Austria and Cyprus.
The spectator record from the previous year in Stockholm was already broken in 2001 as nearly 35,000 attended the show in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen.
France, Greece and Slovenia were predicted to win this year but Estonia took everyone by surprise by taking the trophy.
Tanel Padar and Aruban-born Dave Benton's pop-funk entry Everybody won the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest 21 points ahead of second-placed Denmark. The song did not become a hit in Europe but did provide Estonia with the opportunity to host the contest the following year.
The EBU introduced a new rule this year that only the top 15 countries and the so called 'Big Four' (Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and France) could participate in the 2002 contest. The Danish national broadcaster CR had to cope with major challenges including building a roof over the Parken Stadium so that it met the requirements to host the Eurovision Song Contest. The venue is still the largest to host the contest to date. The presenters spoke entirely in rhyming couplets, much to the ridicule of UK commentator Terry Wogan. He later apologised for his comments after the Danish broadcaster complained to the BBC.
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