Cheering fans greeted Eurovision Song Contest winner Måns Zelmerlöw as he arrived at Arlanda airport yesterday. 

The 28-year-old singer and TV presenter, who had been a bookmakers' favorite, performed the winning electro-pop ballad "Heroes," dancing in front of a black screen with animated gnomes.

"It feels great. I am so thankful for everyone being here and I am overwhelmed by everything right now," Zelmerlöw told media at the airport upon his arrival. "The flight here was the craziest flight in my life, the entire plain sang 'Heroes'."

Zelmerlöw sang a snippet of his winning song for the media, signed autographs and hugged fans.

Sweden has won the 60-year-old competition six times, more than any other nation apart from Ireland. Sweden won most recently in 2012 with "Euphoria" by Loreen.

Zelmerlöw beat Russia's Polina Gagarina, whose song "A Million Voices" reaped top scores from most former Soviet satellite states that earned angry jeers from the crowd in Austria.

While viewers are often puzzled by the inclusion of countries outside Europe, such as Israel, which qualifies thanks to its membership of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), this year the net was cast even wider.

To mark 60 years since the first Eurovision in 1955, Australia was given a wild card entry and singer Guy Sebastian and his up-tempo song "Tonight Again," a big hit with the crowds in Austria, finished fifth.