Tonight, as many ultimate kitsch Eurovision Song Contest parties are planned in the UK, there could be other more serious activities being planned by campaigners in eastern Europe as opposition supporters in Azerbaijan try to use the massive media spotlight that is Euro-Vision, to highlight the country’s poor record on human rights and the plight of much of the population.
A series of articles in the British press have reflected the upsurge in awareness of intimidation and oppression of opposition campaigners and journalists, including the arrest and alleged torture of Jamal Ali, a musician and rapper, who has now fled the country.
Since arriving in Germany the rapper has continued to highlight the situation and the incongruity of the Crystal Hall stadium, and centre piece of a host of new glitzy buildings which hosting the contest has triggered, in the light of the forced evictions of its citizens in order to make way for these city developments. Whilst every hosting country takes full advantage of the huge marketing opportunity that the Europe-wide audience attracted to the contest, activists and human rights campaigners in Azerbaijan are also keen to use this unusual and possibly fleeting amount of interest in the country to increase awareness of their issues, including serious lack of basic freedoms.
Whilst the Azerbaijani government has guaranteed complete freedom of the press for the duration of the contest this has only served to further emphasis the fact that there is usually no such freedom experienced in the country. The contest, widely seen as light-hearted and somewhat out-dated in many western countries, it is apparently taken more seriously in Eastern Europe. So Amnesty International’s call for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to address these issues and from campaigners for a boycott of the contest, are indicative of the significance of the Contest in terms of its ability to reach around 125 million viewers in 25 countries and raise awareness across the whole of Europe.
The EBU view that the contest is apolitical and its failure to issue any new public statements despite being under growing pressure to do so, is surely becoming harder to maintain and demands that it openly enforce its mandate to protect and promote basic freedoms of expression are increasing as the contest draws nearer and the opportunity to speak out is lessening. However, some of those opposed to the boycott believe that it is only by attracting media attention and visits from outside journalists that the world will be able to see for itself what the true situation is. Whether Azerbaijan journalists will be able to do so beyond the period of the contest however remains to be seen.
Whilst the songs competing in this year’s Euro-Vision are unlikely to be very much different than previous entries and the tactical political voting is unlikely to change very much, it is perhaps only now that the real impact of so many new European states participating in Euro-Vision will be seen. The prize of hosting a contest could in future be won with trepidation beyond the usual worries about the financial costs involved. The larger number of entries, the return to many songs being sung in native languages and the TV show being extended over several rounds will perhaps now be the least of the changes that the EBU and the Euro-Vision viewers will be aware of in years to come. How far the visiting journalists will choose to roam, and how many of the broadcast commentaries include any reference to the fore-going protests is also yet unknown.
The appetite of the UK audience to poke gentle fun at the competition, is evidenced by the BBC choosing to despatch the much cherished Terry Wogan and now Graham Norton to cover the contest, with their respective gentle and wicked Irish wit – it is difficult to imagine this sitting very comfortably with any really meaningful insights into the political and ethical cultures of a host nation or that the EBU’s view that Eurovision is also a force for change will really have much effect…but we shall see.
