Since Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia entered what was often more memorable for its kitsch entries, political intrigues have often defined the event rather than its actual purpose of bringing nations together.
— Onnik Krikorian
Can this change?
By Onnik Krikorian via Ararat Magazine
Azerbaijan’s victory at this year’s annual Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf, Germany, offers some activists reason for hope, but also raises concerns.
Love it or loathe it, the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual international music competition held with the participation of the member countries of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is anything but boring. Since Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia entered what was often more memorable for its kitsch entries, political intrigues have often defined the event rather than its actual purpose of bringing nations together. True, it has always had its fair share of controversy, with Lebanon forced to pull out of the competition in 2005 after it refused to broadcast Israel’s entry, but regional rivalries in the South Caucasus have taken what must seem to an international television audience as nothing more than petty squabbling to new and higher levels.
Eurovision winners Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Camal of Azerbaijan, who performed under the stage name of Eli and Nikki