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Peter gets set for the big night
A round trip of 5,000 miles in a weekend - all for Eurovision glory
6/ 2/2008
I NEVER realised just how big the Eurovision family had grown - until last weekend that is, when I flew a round trip of 5,000 miles to attend the first Azerbaijan national final of the contest.
My visit also underlined the importance that small Eastern European countries now place on Eurovision as a premise to bring about not just cultural, but in some instances, also political change.
Before the invitation came I had no idea where Azerbaijan is, let alone its intention to add to the Eurovision stage yet another set of cultural oddities.
Well, for those that are still unaware of the geography, Azerbaijan is a small oil/gas rich former Soviet republic, determined to prove its European credentials, not just to neighbours Russia but also Iran and Georgia.This is a confident country, which has decided that it wants to promote itself to the outside world, its Caspian neighbours - and to Eurovision.
My Azerbaijan hosts talk of Britain and Britons in a way which makes the hairs at the back of your neck stand up.
They are proud to have us on their side. With Eurovision they are determined to show they are a stand-alone nation, which is happy to share its culture with others, yet at the same time demands the respect of the world.
It is a diifficult task they face in a short time to convince Europe that through their musical offerings they can really revolutionise the way this Moslem nation is seen by the rest of the world.
They have drafted in experts from the Ukraine, who lavished efforts on the three finalists in Saturday’s competition to turn them from X Factor-type losers to winners. The entrants were flown to Kiev in the weeks leading up to the event and taught singing and performance skills to make them Eurovision beaters.
The Azerbaijani media had heard about my interest in Eurovision and I was met by a posse of local and national broadcast journalists keen to ask about my growing obssession and to ask me about Britain and its people. Questions ranged from - how much did Britain enjoy Eurovision to more fundamental questions about what made a good Eurovision song.
The event itself was held in a circular dome-like building, a throwback to Communism, with seven thousand Azerbaijanis in the audience.
The show was stolen by Elnur Huseynov, dressed in white angel wings and his devilish compatriot, Samir Javadzadeh.
They were almost a combination of Alice Cooper and a screaming Freddie Mercury.
However, before the likely winning song ‘Day After Day’ faces Terry Wogan’s acerbic comments it must traverse the semi-finals in Belgrade in May.
It will compete against 38 other countries, to decide who will joining Serbia, France, Germany, Spain and the UK in this year’s final.
Yuriy Melnyk, the international communications manager for Ukraine winner Ruslana, appeared at the stadium in Baku along with two other Eurovision winners.
He said: "I have no doubt that her win with ‘Wild Dances’ at the Eurovision in Istanbul in 2004 contributed in some way to the Orange Revolution (civil disobedience in October 2004, which brought about reforms) in the Ukraine.
"Goodness knows what might happen if Azerbaijan wins in 2008!"
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6/02/2008 at 16:46
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12/02/2008 at 12:25