for the first time, a decision which former winner Johnny Logan claimed had turned the contest into "karaoke". The language rule was also relaxed once again, which allowed artists the option to perform in any language, with many now choosing to sing in English. The "Big Four" group of countries was formed at this contest, a rule which saw the contest's largest financial backers, Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom, now being exempt from relegation and able to participate every year. The contest became a close race between Sweden and Iceland, with Charlotte Nilsson earning Sweden's fourth contest win with "Take Me to Your Heaven". Following the winning reprise the broadcast was concluded by all participating artists assembling on-stage to perform "Hallelujah", the Israeli winning song from 1979, as a tribute to the victims of the then-ongoing war in the Balkans. 2000s The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the forty-fifth edition of the contest, organised by SVT and held on 13 May 2000 at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. 24 countries competed in the contest, with making its first appearance. The first contest of the new millennium was held before the biggest crowd yet seen in its history, with over 13,000 spectators witnessing the show in the arena, and it was the first contest to be broadcast live via the internet. Denmark secured its second win, its first since 1963, represented by the Olsen Brothers with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love". Russia, which had placed second, petitioned for the song's disqualification for the partial use of a vocoder, which was rejected by the EBU. The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the forty-sixth edition of the contest, organised by DR and held on 12 May 2001 at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. A retractable roof was specially constructed over the football stadium for the contest, and with 38,000 spectators it became the biggest live audience ever seen at Eurovision, a record which still stands. 23 countries competed in total, and the relegation system was again altered, by removing the average score comparison and bringing back the system used in 1994 and 1995 of relegating the bottom-placed countries, with the Big Four being exempt no matter their placing. Estonia were declared the winners, represented by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL with "Everybody". With their victory Estonia became the first country from the former Eastern Bloc