The eleventh esctoday.com TOP TEN list continues today with the places 3 and 2 being announced. As revealed on Saturday, this week's topic are the TOP TEN most successful countries.

The ranking will feature countries that have taken part more than five times, i.e. in more than 10% of the editions of the contest held so far. It will be based on the average relative placing (i.e. the place in the contest compared to the number of participants) a country has achieved since its debut until today. Rules are:

• Semi final results and final results are counted separately.
• The qualifiying rounds of 1993 and 1996 will not be considered.
• In the case of a tie, the country that won more often compared to its participations gets the higher place in the ranking.

An example:

The countries x took part in the contest three times and finished 4th out of 12, 4th out of 16 and 10th out of 20. The average relative placing for x is 36/100, which equals a 9th place among 25 contestants. All average placings will be given compared to 25 countries competing as this is the current number of finalists every year.

So we continue…

No. 3 – Russia

Russia's average relative placing since the country's debut in 1994 equals an 8.45th place among 25 contestants.

Russia took part in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first timein 1994. The country owes its high placing in this ranking not only to a series of good results but also to the fact that it never did really badly. Russia was never in the bottom six as their worst placing was seventh last in 1995. The second wort placings were 15th out of 25th and 24th respectively both in 1997 and 2005. The only other years that Russia did not reach the top ten were 2001 (12th), 2004 (11th), 2009 (11th) and 2010 (11th).

Russia started with a top ten placing in 1994 but it took until 2000 that the first major success was achieved: Alsou finished second with Solo in Stockholm. Another second place was achieved by Dima Bilan in 2006 with Never let you go, two years before he won with Believe. In 2003, t.A.T.u finished third and so did Serebro in 2007.

First victory – Dima Bilan performs Believe in Belgrade:

No. 2 – United Kingdom

The United Kingdom's average relative placing since the country's debut in 1957 equals an 8.45th place among 25 contestants. As the UK had the higher number of victories compared to their number of entries, they were put above Russia in this ranking despite the same average relative placing.

The UK's start in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1957 was not very glorious only resulting in a seventh place among ten contestants. However, it would take until 1978 that the country finished in the second half of the scoreboard again and it would take another nine years, until it happened for the third time (and the last time in the years of jury voting). In 1999, shortly after televoting had been introduced as well as the free choice of language, a very long streak of bad luck started. Over the following years, the United Kingdom almost always finished somewhere near the bottom. In those years, the country's first three (!) last places were achieved: In 2003 (with nil points), in 2008 and in 2010.

In other years, the UK was almost always one of the top ranking countries. Five times the victory went the "motherland of pop music": In 1967 for Sandie Shaw and her song Puppet on a string, in 1969 for Lulu and Boom bang-a-bang, in 1976 for the Brotherhood of Man and Save your kisses for me (which is the best selling winning song ever), in 1981 for Bucks Fizz and Making your mind up and most recently in 1997 for Katrina & the Waves and Love shine a light. Even more impressively, the country finished second 15 times (among them twice three years in a row), third three times, fourth five times and fifth once. The only major successes in the years of televoting were achieved in 2002 (third place) and 2009 (fifth place).

Winners with 227 points – Katrina & the Waves perform Love shine a light in 1997:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8oTtSTRdSw

Tomorrow, we will show the no. 1 on the list.