Selling Azerbaijan

Amanda RivkIn

Ready for prime time? Azeri pop star Sabina Babayeva, right, will sing at Eurovision

Last May, Ell & Nikki, an obscure duo from Azerbaijan, won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. The country's President, Ilham Aliyev, treated the musical win like a military triumph, describing it as "a victory for the people of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani state." By winning the pan-European singing contest — which, kitschy as it is, unites the region like little else — Azerbaijan's capital city, Baku, earned the right to host this year's show, which will be broadcast to more than 100 million people at the end of May.

Hosting Eurovision...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!