May 17, 2011
Last Saturday, Azerbaijan won the Euro Vision Song contest, an annual popular event that is widely celebrated in Europe and Central Asia. The contest was held in Germany, the winner of last year. These few days, every Azeri TV channel broadcasts the event nearly 24 hours a day, and the winning song is being played repeatedly every hour. You can feel the elation from every Azeri, young or old, male or female.
More than 45 countries take part this once a year competition, and among all the contestants, Azerbaijan perhaps is the least recognized nation. To win the contest over some strong competitors like Germany, Spain and France, it is undeniably a dream comes true for the Azeri. They should be proud.
These past few days during my daily exercise, I greeted my Azeri friends and strangers (even the horrible teenagers) with “təbrik edirəm” (I congratuate you). As soon as I cheered them, a crowd would gather around me, shake my hands, thank me and offer me “çay” (tea). The teenagers even wanted to run with me just to show their friendliness. I feel their excitment, their pride and their joy, and I am honor and deeply moved by their willingness to share their “National Pride” with a stranger like me.
Being a winner this year, next Spring Azerbaijan will be a host state to organize the competition. The occasion will bring in many tourists to this country, increase international awareness of this small nation, hopefully will boost its economy, and ultimately increase the wealth of its people.
I am proud for being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Azerbaijan!
Here is the news:
The Eurovision Song Contest brought in 120 million viewers this year and was aired in 55 countries....
Azerbaijan, a tiny country that is lush with natural resources, won the competition and as a result will host the event next year. The winner surprised experts who had expected countries such as France, Ireland or the U.K. to win. Azerbaijan is a country with a large Shiite Muslim population that has suffered from a longtime border conflict with nearby Armenia.
The winning performance was by the duo Ell and Nikki with the song “Running Scared,” which won with 221 points. Concerns are already being raised as to the country’s ability to host next year’s Eurovision, mostly from the popularity of the event with the gay population. Azerbaijan legalized homosexuality in 2001, but Muslim countries generally aren’t tolerant towards individuals expressing these freedoms.
Eurovision began in the early 1950s to test TV linkups across country lines. The participating countries were also interested in creating a good rapport with each other. Communist authorities attempted to stay out of the event and even tried to start their own, but the popularity of Eurovision could not be denied.
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