AKIPRESS.COM - Sweden has been announced as the winner of this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna.

Mans Zelmerlow performed "Heroes" in the Austrian capital after being the bookies' favourite for much of the run-up before going on to win an impressive 365 points, reports Independent.

The 28-year-old, best known for taking part in Idol 2005, cruised through Thursday's semi-final despite some controversy over anti-gay comments he apologised for last year.

It was a three-horse race between Sweden, Russia and Italy for much of the results process, with Russia coming second and Italy third. Belgium came fourth, Australian fifth and the UK a disappointing 24th.