AZERBAIJAN: Russia's 'Buranovo Grannies' enjoy fame ahead of the Eurovision Grand Final and find time for jokes and rest

Record ID: 218197

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Russia's 'Buranovo Grannies' enjoy fame ahead of the Eurovision Grand Final and find time for jokes and rest
  • Date: 27th May 2012
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF 'GRANNIES' TALKING TO EACH OTHER AHEAD OF GRAND REHEARSAL
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA48CYOJ3MQNM6C5QHGN13FOJQ3
  • Story Text: Russian 'babushkas' have turned into the stars of a glitzy pop song contest. Members of singing group the 'Buranovo Grannies' were using their spare time on Friday (May 25) to enjoy rare luxuries at a quiet Caspian Sea hotel outside Azerbaijan's capital Baku, where the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with be held on Saturday (May 26).
    The women from a remote village in Russia's Udmurtia joked and laughed with their numerous relatives, friends and other villagers during a Skype session organised by their producer. They spoke in their native Udmurt language, hardly known by anyone around.
    After their conversation with family members and just hours before the final dress rehearsal, the 'grannies' decided to sing the Beatles song 'Let it be' in Udmurt, a language spoken by just over 300,000 people.
    Most of the Buranovo Grannies are well over 70 years old. The amateur group from Russia's Republic of Udmurtia, some 1,300 km (800 miles) east of Moscow, is Russia's entry for the 2012 song contest. They officially started singing together as a group in 2008 and Eurovision will be their biggest performance so far.
    Clad in the traditional headscarves and long dresses of their region, they invited the audience to sing along during the dress rehearsal.
    Other participants in this year's song contest include 76 year-old British crooner Engelbert Humperdinck and pop duo Jedward - twins from Ireland much beloved by teenagers in Europe.
    Bookmakers' favourites are the Russian grannies and 28 year-old Loreen from Sweden.
    The annual Eurovision Song Contest usually draws more than 100 million viewers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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