Now the 49th Eurovision Song Contest is over, we can make up the result and check out which countries are directly qualified for next year's final. The other countries will have to take part in a qualifier round again, at least of this system will be used next year again.
The following countries qualified themselves for next year's final:
Albania
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Cyprus
Greece
Malta (or Croatia)
Russia
Serbia & Montenegro
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and France are directly qualified, because they belong to the Big Four. These countries pay a participation fee that high, the contest could not be organised without their financial support. The fee is based on statistical information, such as potential viewers, so it's not possible to 'buy' a direct qualification.
The list published above has not yet been officially confirmed.
Addition: it's unsure if Croatia or Malta qualifies. Croatia received 10 points from a country, but Malta received points from the most countries.
