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EBU requires from Azerbaijan guarantee of safety for participants of â€œEurovision -2012â€ song contest

30 June 2011 01:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Ulker Gasimov â€“ APA. During a meeting in Geneva last week, the European Broadcasting Union and Ictimai TV, the public broadcaster of Azerbaijan, have taken the first steps in the organization of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, which is scheduled to take place on 22, 24 and 26 May 2012. The broadcaster won the right to host Europeâ€™s favourite TV show after their victory at the 56th running of the contest, which took place in DÃ¼sseldorf on the 14th of May this year.
A delegation of the core organization team of Ictimai TV visited the EBU headquarters in Geneva last week, to receive an intensive briefing on the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest. The EBU presented a detailed planning, venue requirements, information about security and accreditation, and provided a creative briefing for the Ictimai TV team, amongst others. The Eurovision Song Contest team of the EBU, as well as the contestâ€™s governing body, the Reference Group, were available to answer questions.
Ictimai TV presented various projects initiated by the broadcaster, local and national authorities, to upgrade the infrastructure, hotels, airport facilities and public transport services. "Our Azerbaijani colleagues have updated us on the first steps they have taken in the lead up to the 2012 contest. Hosting this event is an enormous logistical and creative challenge, and we are happy to see their dedication to organize the best Eurovision Song Contest to date," said Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the contest on behalf of the EBU.
During the meeting, it was also agreed that the EBU will strongly act against illegal usage of the official Eurovision Song Contest logo. "We understand that there is a lot of interest to use the contestâ€™s logo in Azerbaijan. Although the interest in the contest is highly appreciated, the logo of the contest is property of the EBU and can only be used by Ictimai TV and the contestâ€™s official partners," underlined Sietse Bakker, Event Supervisor of the contest.
In line with standard requirements that have to be fulfilled to host the Eurovision Song Contest, the government of Azerbaijan has been requested by the EBU to provide guarantees about security during the event, as well as freedom of expression, according to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, to all participants, fans, accredited journalists and the individual citizens of the country that access official Eurovision Song Contest premises. The EBU also requested that all accredited individuals and ticket holders shall receive sufficient entrance visa for the required duration. Such guarantees are expected to be given in the weeks to come.
Ictimai TV is considering various options when it comes to the location of the Eurovision Song Contest, both existing as well as newly built. Decisions about the venue of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest are expected to be taken in August, when the first Reference Group meeting shall take place in Baku.