Tweet
MSN News
May 28 2012
Eurovision spotlight promotes, exposes Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan basked in the promotional spotlight that shone on its
oil-boom capital during the Eurovision Song Contest but the attention
also brought unwelcome scrutiny of its record on human rights.
With more than 100 million people watching worldwide as Swedish pop
diva Loreen outscored a troupe of Russian grannies to lift the glass
microphone trophy, the ex-Soviet state staged its biggest cultural
extravaganza since independence.
"It was 'mission accomplished' -- Azerbaijan succeeded in putting on
the largest non-sporting event in the world," Ewan Spence, author of
"Eurovision: Beyond the Sequins", told AFP after watching the contest
in Baku.
The authorities treated Eurovision more like an event of major
political significance than a kitschy pop competition, using it to
promote an image of the mainly Muslim country as a glamorous Caspian
Sea economic tiger.
"Azerbaijan organised Eurovision at the highest level and this is a
great success for the country," Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bahar
Muradova told AFP.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on beautifying the capital
and building the glittering Crystal Hall venue that was topped with
swirling lasers and drenched in lights that changed colour to match
each competing nation's flag.
"It was like a fairy tale. I am very proud that we staged such a
brilliant production," Baku student Zaur Aliyev told AFP.
"Not only the show but the concert hall itself was the best in the
history of Eurovision," said engineer Ali Guluzade.
The authorities hope that from now on Azerbaijan will not only be
known in Europe as an energy exporter that went through a bloody war
with neighbour Armenia over the territory of Nagorny Karabakh after
the Soviet collapse.
"In terms of advertising and exposure, there isn't much to rival
Eurovision. People will recognise the country now and maybe see it as
a possible place for tourism or investment," said Spence.
But until the first chord was struck, the show risked being
overshadowed by accusations that strongman President Ilham Aliyev runs
an authoritarian regime that jails opponents, persecutes journalists
and cracks down on public dissent.
The party mood was soured when police in Baku detained dozens of
opposition activists attempting to hold pre-Eurovision protests for
democratic freedoms.
But activists claimed a moral victory after resentments simmering
behind the capital's grand facades attracted unprecedented worldwide
media coverage.
"Europeans have learned that we are part of the European family and we
want to live by European principles," Rasul Jafarov of campaign group
Sing For Democracy told AFP.
Jafarov said that Swedish winner Loreen, who infuriated officials by
meeting rights activists before the contest, had demonstrated "how
Europe appreciates the principles of human rights".
However at a post-Eurovision news conference, Loreen avoided making
any political statement, saying simply: "I will support the Azerbaijan
people from my heart."
Campaigners say Eurovision also highlighted the dominance exerted by
Aliyev, who has run Azerbaijan since 2003 after succeeding his late
father Heydar, a former Communist boss whose face still gazes down
from billboard posters all over the country.
His wife Mehriban Aliyeva led the Eurovision organising committee and
his son-in-law Emin Agalarov, a Moscow-based businessman with a
budding pop career, sang in a musical interlude after the voting.
Radio Liberty also reported allegations this month that a construction
company involved in building the Crystal Hall venue had links to the
Aliyev family.
Politics intervened again at the show with promotional videos that
showed landscapes from Nagorny Karabakh, highlighting Azerbaijan's
insistence that it has been occupied by Armenians since the 1990s war.
Armenia boycotted the event, saying it feared hostile treatment.
http://news.ph.msn.com/entertainment/eurovision-spotlight-promotes-exposes-azerbaijan
From: A. Papazian
May 28 2012
Eurovision spotlight promotes, exposes Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan basked in the promotional spotlight that shone on its
oil-boom capital during the Eurovision Song Contest but the attention
also brought unwelcome scrutiny of its record on human rights.
With more than 100 million people watching worldwide as Swedish pop
diva Loreen outscored a troupe of Russian grannies to lift the glass
microphone trophy, the ex-Soviet state staged its biggest cultural
extravaganza since independence.
"It was 'mission accomplished' -- Azerbaijan succeeded in putting on
the largest non-sporting event in the world," Ewan Spence, author of
"Eurovision: Beyond the Sequins", told AFP after watching the contest
in Baku.
The authorities treated Eurovision more like an event of major
political significance than a kitschy pop competition, using it to
promote an image of the mainly Muslim country as a glamorous Caspian
Sea economic tiger.
"Azerbaijan organised Eurovision at the highest level and this is a
great success for the country," Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bahar
Muradova told AFP.
Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on beautifying the capital
and building the glittering Crystal Hall venue that was topped with
swirling lasers and drenched in lights that changed colour to match
each competing nation's flag.
"It was like a fairy tale. I am very proud that we staged such a
brilliant production," Baku student Zaur Aliyev told AFP.
"Not only the show but the concert hall itself was the best in the
history of Eurovision," said engineer Ali Guluzade.
The authorities hope that from now on Azerbaijan will not only be
known in Europe as an energy exporter that went through a bloody war
with neighbour Armenia over the territory of Nagorny Karabakh after
the Soviet collapse.
"In terms of advertising and exposure, there isn't much to rival
Eurovision. People will recognise the country now and maybe see it as
a possible place for tourism or investment," said Spence.
But until the first chord was struck, the show risked being
overshadowed by accusations that strongman President Ilham Aliyev runs
an authoritarian regime that jails opponents, persecutes journalists
and cracks down on public dissent.
The party mood was soured when police in Baku detained dozens of
opposition activists attempting to hold pre-Eurovision protests for
democratic freedoms.
But activists claimed a moral victory after resentments simmering
behind the capital's grand facades attracted unprecedented worldwide
media coverage.
"Europeans have learned that we are part of the European family and we
want to live by European principles," Rasul Jafarov of campaign group
Sing For Democracy told AFP.
Jafarov said that Swedish winner Loreen, who infuriated officials by
meeting rights activists before the contest, had demonstrated "how
Europe appreciates the principles of human rights".
However at a post-Eurovision news conference, Loreen avoided making
any political statement, saying simply: "I will support the Azerbaijan
people from my heart."
Campaigners say Eurovision also highlighted the dominance exerted by
Aliyev, who has run Azerbaijan since 2003 after succeeding his late
father Heydar, a former Communist boss whose face still gazes down
from billboard posters all over the country.
His wife Mehriban Aliyeva led the Eurovision organising committee and
his son-in-law Emin Agalarov, a Moscow-based businessman with a
budding pop career, sang in a musical interlude after the voting.
Radio Liberty also reported allegations this month that a construction
company involved in building the Crystal Hall venue had links to the
Aliyev family.
Politics intervened again at the show with promotional videos that
showed landscapes from Nagorny Karabakh, highlighting Azerbaijan's
insistence that it has been occupied by Armenians since the 1990s war.
Armenia boycotted the event, saying it feared hostile treatment.
http://news.ph.msn.com/entertainment/eurovision-spotlight-promotes-exposes-azerbaijan
From: A. Papazian