AZERBAIJAN: Eurovision pop song contest chooses first 10 finalists for May 26 grand final in Baku Crystal Hall

Record ID: 218246

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Eurovision pop song contest chooses first 10 finalists for May 26 grand final in Baku Crystal Hall
  • Date: 26th May 2012
  • Summary: BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (MAY 22, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BAKU CRYSTAL HALL, EUROVISION 2012 VENUE VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS CARRYING NATIONAL FLAGS OF THEIR COUNTRIES WALKING TOWARDS CRYSTAL HALL VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS GOING THROUGH SECURITY GATES BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (MAY 23, 2012) (REUTERS) RUSSIAN DELEGATION REACTING AS THEIR ENTRY "BURANOVSKIE BABUSHKI" ("BURANOVO GRANNIES")
  • Embargoed: 10th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVAAH1K9D53SM1ZIBM8YSAHWH5D0
  • Story Text: Participants from 10 countries made it through the 57th annual Eurovision Contest's first round of semi-finals on Tuesday (May 22), which was held in Baku Crystal Hall, shining in rainbow colours.
    Out of 18 countries Romania, Moldova, Island, Hungary, Denmark, Albania, Cyprus, Greece, Russia and Ireland were chosen to move on to compete in the Eurovision final to be held on May 26.
    Happy finalists shared their excitement, nervousness, thankfulness, with media in a news conference immediately following their qualifying performance.
    "It was so pleasant for us, that people got up when we sang. They meet us very friendly wherever we go. Journalists follow us constantly. We do enjoy it. We could hardly hear music, When we started singing, I got scared and thought I would not be able to sing as it was so noisy in the hall," said Ekaterina Koneva, one of the "Buranovo Grannies," a singing group from Russia, the favourite of the journalists covering the pop song contest.
    Ireland's entry, duo "Jedward" consisting of the 20-year-old twins, John and Edward Grimes, tried to express their emotions in a funny way, snatching the microphone from each other, but it was clear they were happy.
    "Yeah, we did OK, because we felt like oh, my God we are at the very, very end, then we were thinking oh, actually we have made it through an then what we are going to do if we do not get through. We thought people might not recognise us without our hair. You know how it feels, like you go through, I do not know. But any way, it's cool. We are OK," John and Edward Grimes said told audience in the hall.
    Albania's entry Rona Nishliu impressed journalists and public with her vocal abilities and performance.
    "It has been always important to share my very sincere opinion and to express my inner self and to share my inner voice with everybody in every stage. And I am happy to have a chance to share with thousands present in this marvelous Crystal Hall and millions who watched us," Rona Nishliu said after her successful performance.
    The winners were determined by a 50/50 combination of viewer text message voting and jury panel.
    The second round of Eurovision semi-final will be held on May 24 and will include another 18 entrants from Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Macedonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey and Ukraine.
    Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom will join the contest at its last stage on May 26.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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