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BEHIND THE SCENES IN AZERBAIJAN
BY: John Woodhouse
The Sentinel (Stoke)
May 21, 2012 Monday
Edition 1; National Edition
TV preview By John Woodhouse Panorama: Eurovision's Dirty Secret
BBC1, 8.30pm
YOU might have been wondering what that buzz in the air is as at the
moment, that crackle of excitement and expectation. Well, the answer
is clear - this weekend it's the Eurovision Song Contest, an event
which knocks the Olympics, the Jubilee, and even Pippa Middleton's
bottom into a cocked hat.
With days to go, Panorama goes undercover inside host country
Azerbaijan to discover the truth about this secretive nation and its
approach to the most watched non-sporting event (excluding London
riots). The programme discovers how in Azerbaijan the contest has been
used as a tool of intimidation. Viewers have been interrogated for
voting for the nation"s long-term enemy, Armenia. A protest singer
has been told to flee before Eurovision or he'll be thrown in jail.
And dozens have had their homes bulldozed to make way for the
Eurovision venue itself. To make matters worse, they've now got to
entertain Engelbert Humperdinck, pictured.
The U.S. embassy in Baku has compared Azerbaijan's ruling family to
the Mafia. The regime has held on to power through a combination of
rigged elections, jailing opponents, and by irregular control of the
country"s vast oil wealth. So, why host the event in Azerbaijan?
Well, it is of course traditional for the winner of the previous
year's contest to stage the next one. And Azerbaijan wiped the floor
in 2011 with the song Running Scared - I think they were trying to
tell us something.
BY: John Woodhouse
The Sentinel (Stoke)
May 21, 2012 Monday
Edition 1; National Edition
TV preview By John Woodhouse Panorama: Eurovision's Dirty Secret
BBC1, 8.30pm
YOU might have been wondering what that buzz in the air is as at the
moment, that crackle of excitement and expectation. Well, the answer
is clear - this weekend it's the Eurovision Song Contest, an event
which knocks the Olympics, the Jubilee, and even Pippa Middleton's
bottom into a cocked hat.
With days to go, Panorama goes undercover inside host country
Azerbaijan to discover the truth about this secretive nation and its
approach to the most watched non-sporting event (excluding London
riots). The programme discovers how in Azerbaijan the contest has been
used as a tool of intimidation. Viewers have been interrogated for
voting for the nation"s long-term enemy, Armenia. A protest singer
has been told to flee before Eurovision or he'll be thrown in jail.
And dozens have had their homes bulldozed to make way for the
Eurovision venue itself. To make matters worse, they've now got to
entertain Engelbert Humperdinck, pictured.
The U.S. embassy in Baku has compared Azerbaijan's ruling family to
the Mafia. The regime has held on to power through a combination of
rigged elections, jailing opponents, and by irregular control of the
country"s vast oil wealth. So, why host the event in Azerbaijan?
Well, it is of course traditional for the winner of the previous
year's contest to stage the next one. And Azerbaijan wiped the floor
in 2011 with the song Running Scared - I think they were trying to
tell us something.