It took Finland 40 years to win the European Song Contest, but Finnish dance couple Katja Koukkula and Jussi Väänänen made history on Saturday by winning the first ever Eurovision Dance Contest.

Dance couples from 16 European countries took part in the finals of the dance competition held on Saturday night in London.

Koukkula and Väänänen, who danced a rumba routine to Carmen McRae's All In Love Is Fair and a freestyle paso doble to The Unforgiven by Apocalyptica, managed to score 132 points.

Ukraine’s Ilyia Sydorenko and Julia Okropiridze finished second, 11 points behind the Finnish couple. Mick Donegan and Nicola Byrne from Ireland ended in third place with 95 points.

The voting process was identical to the one used during the European Song Contest.

Other than with the singing competition, the next edition of the Eurovision Dance Competition will not be held in the winning country, Finland. British public broadcaster BBC has vowed to organize the first two editions in London.

For more information, interviews and photographs, visit www.eurovision.tv/addons/dance/news.php