Eurovision Azerbaijan 2012 · Global Voices

Flickr: banlon1964 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Every year, millions of citizens in Europe and surrounding countries vote over the phone for their favorite songs in the Eurovision Song Contest. The European Broadcast Union has held the live music competition since 1956. It inspires famously kitsch performances and politically-inspired voting but still triggers enormous national pride and excitement, not least for the winning countries.
In 2012, the competition will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan for the first time, thanks to its 2011 win in Germany. This will inevitably cast a spotlight on corruption, human rights and free speech in the country, with activists in the oil-rich republic already referring to what they are calling the ‘Eurovision Effect’. Azerbaijan's ongoing conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabakah will also be in focus.
Just how will internal political developments and regional tensions play out in Eurovision 2012: Azerbaijan? Follow Global Voices’ special coverage over the coming year to find out.
Please contact Global Voices Caucasus Regional Editor Onnik Krikorian if you have ideas or resources to add to this page.
What we do: Global Voices bloggers report on how citizens use the Internet and social media to make their voices heard, often translating from other languages.
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2012
21 Jun – Armenia: Bloggers Criticize Public TV Eurovision Coverage
25 May – Azerbaijan: More Arrests Despite ‘Eurovision Effect’
2 Apr – Azerbaijan: Amnesty International Running Scared Eurovision action
18 Mar – Azerbaijan: A Rare Opportunity for Opposition Youth to Protest
15 Mar – Azerbaijan: Investigative Journalist Defiant After Blackmail Threat
14 Mar – Armenia: Eurovision withdrawal a wasted opportunity
7 Mar – Armenia: Eurovision withdrawal after propaganda attempt backfires
6 Mar – Armenia: Eurovision propaganda fiasco
5 Mar – Azerbaijan: Singer-Activist calls for Eurovision Boycott
8 Feb – Armenia: Eurovision Hopefuls
6 Feb – Azerbaijan: Qubanin Ag Almasi and Eurovision
31 Jan – Azerbaijan: #LightYourFire Eurovision Meme
27 Jan – Azerbaijan: Eurovision as an Opportunity for Change in the Caucasus
2011
9 Oct – Azerbaijan: Easy travel with e-visas
11 Sep – Azerbaijan: Caspian Dreaming…
5 Sep – Azerbaijan: Eurovision and visas
9 Aug – Azerbaijan: Hopes and expectations for Eurovision
1 Aug – Azerbaijan: Eurovision in a non-free country?
29 Jun – Azerbaijan: Freedom of Eurovision, including for Armenians
26 May – Azerbaijan: Eynulla Fatullayev Pardoned Following Twitter Action
22 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision winner Nigar Camal's visa criticism
22 May – Azerbaijan: Bloggers Divided Over Eurovision Win
20 May – Azerbaijan: Manatvision
18 May – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Eurovision Diplomacy?
18 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision-induced sexual revolution?
16 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision Pride
16 May – Azerbaijan: Euro “Vision”
15 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision Victory
Eurovision 2010
31 May – Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia make Eurovision Top Ten
28 May – Caucasus: Social media, cleavage, and rare unity in Eurovision
24 May – Caucasus: Eurovision Social Media
22 May – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Eurovision pondering
2009
22 Aug – Azerbaijan: Eurovision scandal continues
19 Aug – Azerbaijan: Nationalism
18 Aug – Azerbaijan: Eurovision voting scandal
15 Aug – Azerbaijan: Another Eurovision controversy
22 May – Armenia: Eurovision Bribes
19 May – Azerbaijan: Nationalism fatigue
16 May – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Political Eurovision
2008
21 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision Debut Reaction
Winning Azerbaijan Eurovision entry 2011 performed by ‘Ell and Nikki’
Hashtags: #eurovision | #esc2012
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