AZERBAIJAN CARPING AT BIOGRAPHY OF SINGER REPRESENTING ARMENIA AT EUROVISION
YEREVAN, MARCH 13. ARMINFO. The Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan
is concerned over the birthplace indicated in the biography of the
singer representing Armenia at Eurovision – Andre – on the official
web-site of the contest. The ministry sent a letter of protest to the
event organizers. Day.az agency reports referring to the press-service
of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
According to source, the letter calls the fact as disrespect for
the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and provocation, as well as
a supposition that the contest organizers support the aggressive
policy of Armenia. The letter emphasizes that Nagorny Karabakh
is an integral part of the Azerbaijani Republic. In conclusion,
the letter expresses confidence that the organizers of the contest,
which promotes the dialogue of cultures, will clear up the mess and
display respect to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
To note, Armenia will be represented at the 51st Eurovision Song
Contest by the singer Andrey Hovnanyan under the pseudonym Andre. He
will perform the song “Stay with me” arranged by Ara Torosyan.
Besides, Armenia will be the only country from the South Caucasus to
participate in the contest. The semifinal of the contest is fixed for
May 18 in Athens. Ten participants will be selected for the final on
May 20.
The contest rules allow the countries whose representatives occupied
top ten places during the previous contest and representatives of
the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to reach the final of the
contest automatically. The Armenian Public Television has recently
become a member of EBU, whereas Azerbaijan meets neither of the
criteria. The young star of the Armenian stage culture Andre won its
first International Prize in 2001 at the International Music Festival
“Golden Scythian” in Donetsk (Ukraine). Then he took the first place.
He became the champion of the World Art Championship on Stage Culture
(Hollywood) in 2004 in his age category. Andre had been recognized
the best singer of the year in Armenia for the last two years.