Ruslana of Ukraine has won the Eurovision song contest, with Wild Dance earning her country its first victory at the pan-continental music bonanza

Dressed in leather costumes reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings and wielding whips, Ruslana and her dancers offered a dazzling spectacle inspired by ethnic traditions in the Carpathian mountains of western Ukraine. The charismatic brunette, one of Ukraine's top stars, mustered 280 points from the televoting in the 36 participant countries. It is Ukraine's second appearance in the 49-year-old pop and rock song festival. Her victory comes as a reward for a well-organised and quite costly publicity campaign, which saw her touring 14 countries ahead of the contest to promote her tune. The song is equal parts upbeat pop and ethnic music. Jeljko Joksimovic, of Serbia and Montenegro, came second with a ballad blending pop music and Balkan folk melodies. Previously favoured Greek heartthrob Sakis Rouvas, who offered upbeat Latino pop, came third. No one received the dreaded zero points this year like Britain did in 2003.