Hurriyet Daily News

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The winners of the 56th Eurovision Song Contest, held in Germany's Dusseldorf last weekend, showed their support for Turkey after it was eliminated in the semi-finals by waving Turkish flags onstage. 'I don't think it was fair,' says 22-year-old Ell, half of the winning Azerbaijani duo Ell and Nikki

The two Azerbaijanis who won a recent European music contest have shown that Turkic ties transcend European boundaries.

Winning duo Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal, better known by the stage names Ell and Nikki, expressed their support for their Turkish competitors, who were eliminated in the early rounds of the 56th Eurovision Song Contest, calling them “great friends and brothers.”

“I don’t think it was fair,” 22-year-old Gasimov told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview, speaking about Turkish rock band Yüksek Sadakat’s failure to qualify for the Eurovision final.

“We became friends with Yüksek Sadakat during our stay in Dusseldorf and we were very sorry to hear that they didn’t make it into the final. I think they were a very strong entry,” said Jamal.

Onstage at the contest, the Azerbaijani duo unfurled Turkish flags. Asked whether they felt they were representing Turkey or ethnic Turks, they said that they “simply wished to show [their] support for Turkey.”

“Our countries have been supporting each other ever since Azerbaijan first entered Eurovision, giving the highest points to each other. After all, Turkey and Azerbaijan are great friends and brothers,” Gasimov told the Daily News.

“Of course we feel a strong connection with Turkish people. In fact, my own husband is Turkish,” said Jamal, who added that she was “until a few months ago a housewife.”

The duo believes their victory at the contest will show Western Europe that Azerbaijan belongs in Europe.

“Many of the Eurovision viewers from Western Europe didn’t know so much about Azerbaijan before. And now, thanks to our victory, they will discover our beautiful country, and maybe even learn something about our history and culture,” said Gasimov. “Azerbaijan will no longer be just an exotic word to their ears – it will have a whole new meaning.”

The duo’s winning performance means that next year’s Eurovision contest will be held in Baku, something that Jamal believes will be a great opportunity for Azerbaijan to showcase its modern capital.

“When people from all over Europe come together in Baku next year, see what a modern city Baku is and meet Azeri people, they will realize that the Caucasus is also a part of Europe and not only on the map,” Jamal said.

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