Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
| Eurovision Song Contest 2012 "Light Your Fire!" |
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| Dates | |
| Semi-final 1 date | 22 May 2012 |
| Semi-final 2 date | 24 May 2012 |
| Final date | 26 May 2012 |
| Host | |
| Venue | Baku Crystal Hall, Baku, Azerbaijan |
| Presenter(s) | Leyla Aliyeva, Eldar Gasimov and Nargiz Birk-Petersen[1][2] |
| Executive supervisor | Jon Ola Sand |
| Host broadcaster |  İTV |
| Opening act | Ell & Nikki: "Running Scared" |
| Interval act |
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| Participants | |
| Number of entries | 42 |
| Debuting countries | None |
| Returning countries |  Montenegro |
| Withdrawing countries | |
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Participation map[hide]
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| Eurovision Song Contest | |
◄2011  2013► |
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The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 is the 57th annual Eurovision Song Contest. It is being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, following Azerbaijan's win in the 2011 Contest with Eldar & Nigar's song "Running Scared". The two semi-finals were scheduled to be held on 22 May and 24 May 2012, and the final on 26 May 2012.[6] Ten countries from each semi-final will qualify for the final and will be joined by Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. Forty-two countries have announced their participation in the contest, with Montenegro returning, having last taken part in 2009, and Poland and Armenia withdrawing.[7]
Contents |
Venue
The venue for the 2012 Contest is the Baku Crystal Hall in the Azerbaijani capital.
On 16 May 2011, it was announced that a special concert complex with 23,000 seats for the 2012 Contest was to be built near National Flag Square in Baku.[8][9] Three days later, organisers announced that they may use the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium which contains 37,000 seats, or the Heydar Aliyev Sports and Exhibition Complex.[10] On 4 August 2011, it was confirmed that the laying of foundations for the Baku Crystal Hall had started near the National Flag Square,[11] but did not confirm that this was the location. The foundations were completed on 14 October 2011,[12] but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest, did still not confirm the location. Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, which is currently under repairs to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in September–October 2012, was to be used as a back-up option.[13]
On 8 September 2011, Azad Azerbaijan TV (ATV) reported that Baku Crystal Hall will be the venue of Eurovision Song Contest 2012, despite not being the host broadcaster of the contest. No formal confirmation was made at the time by the EBU.[14] On 31 October 2011, Ismayil Omarov, the director general of Azerbaijani national broadcaster İctimai Television announced that a decision on the venue choice would be taken by the steering committee in January 2012.[15] On 25 January 2012, it was confirmed that the Baku Crystal Hall will be the venue of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.[16] Even though the venue has an extended capacity of 23,000 people, only 16,000 people will be able to attend each show.[16]
Human Rights Watch has criticised the Azerbaijani government and the Baku City Authority for carrying out forced evictions against local residents, in order to allow for the demolition of flats to make way for construction in the neighbourhood where the Baku Crystal Hall is being built.[17] The Public Association for Assistance to Free Economy, a transparency and economic rights campaign group, has described the evictions as a "violation of human rights", and as having "no legal authority". However, in a statement to the BBC, Eurovision said that on a recent visit to Baku they had observed "that the construction of the concert hall [which] media reports refer to is already well under way on a clean construction site and thus there are no demolitions needed".[18] The EBU cites the "apolitical" nature of the contest and the Azerbaijani government′s claim that the construction is not tied to the Eurovision Song Contest.[17]
Ticket sale
Ticket sales began on 28 February 2012, and are available online.[19]
National host broadcaster
İctimai Television, which is the EBU member that broadcasts the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, is one of country's public-service broadcasters.[20][21] Deputy Minister of Communication and Information Technology of Azerbaijan, Iltimas Mammadov, stated that telecom networks were ready to host the event. Azerbaijan's largest telecommunications operator, Azercell, was chosen as the presenting partner for the contest.[22] On 1 December 2011, Brainpool was announced as being the official Production Partner, as İTV were impressed with the German television production company's excellence with the production of the 2011 contest.[23]
Meetings of the Swedish delegation
Swedish performer Loreen met local human rights activists, the only Eurovision entrant this year to do so. On 24 May, Ali Hasanov, a representative of the Azeri president Ilham Aliyev, requested the EBU prevent such meetings.[24] Swedish diplomats replied that the EBU, Swedish TV and Loreen had not acted against the competition's rules.[25]
Format
In a meeting of the Eurovision Reference Group on 29 June 2011, it was decided that the televoting system would revert back to the 15-minute window format, used between the 1998 Contest and 2009 Contest, in which the phone and SMS lines open after all songs have been performed (instead of opening before the show starts, which was the system used between 2010 and 2011). The results format of each show will remain the same with each country's votes being decided on a 50:50 split between televoting and a national jury.[26]
Under the official rules released on 24 November 2011, the number of participants in the final will be raised to 26, including the host nation, the "Big Five", and the ten qualifiers from each semi-final.[27] This will be the second time in the Eurovision Song Contest that 26 countries will be in the final, the first being the 2003 Contest.
Semi-final allocation draw
The draw that determined the semi-final running order was held on 25 January 2012 at the Buta Palace.[28]
The participating countries, excluding the automatic finalists (Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), were split into six pots, based upon how those countries voted in past contests. From these pots, half (or as close to half as possible) will compete in the first semi-final on 22 May 2012. The other half in that particular pot will compete in the second semi-final on 24 May 2012. This draw also acts as an approximate running order, in order for the delegations from the countries to know when their rehearsals will commence and determine which semi-final the automatic finalists will be allowed to vote in.[29]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 | Pot 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- 1.^ Armenia withdrew 1.5 months after the semi-final allocation draw.
Graphic design
The design of the contest is built around the motto "Light your fire!", inspired by the nickname of Azerbaijan itself, "Land of Fire".[30]
Each introductory postcard begins with a shot of the artist and performers, followed with the flag and country name in a handwritten font with a background resembling the yellow, orange and red fire of the 2012 theme art. Various shots of Azerbaijan are used, with a caption displaying 'Azerbaijan' and underneath 'Land of ...' (e.g. Land of Abundance; Land of Poetry etc.). this is then followed by the name of a town or geographic feature, which shows the landscape and culture of the country. Some postcards focus on the host city of Baku with text changing to 'Baku' and underneath 'City of ...' (e.g. City of Jazz; City of Leisure etc). The postcards finish with a shot of the Crystal Hall displayed in the colours of the performing country's flag.
The artist, song and number graphics as well as tables and voting graphics are kept the same as those used in 2011, with a slight update to incorporate the 2012 theme art. Both sets of graphics were designed by London brand design agency Turquoise Branding.[31]
Participating countries
On 17 January 2012, the EBU announced that forty-three countries would take part in the 2012 contest. The 57th edition sees the return of Montenegro, which last participated in 2009, as well as the withdrawal of Poland and Armenia.[7][32] The draw to determine the running order for the semifinals and grand final took place on 20 March 2012.[33]
نام: صابر اصلانی قره داغلو