The
Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is one of the most watched television events in
the world, which provides the perfect opportunity for nation branding. Nation
branding is how a country conveys its culture, history, people, government, and
business to the rest of the world (Marat, 2009, p. 1124). As explained in my
last blog, Azerbaijan uses advanced technology and pop songs to present itself
as a modern, progressive, passionate European country, which for the most part,
lines up with Azerbaijan’s identity. Even then, Azerbaijan takes Eurovision
seriously, which might be to appear more attractive and to distance itself from
its Soviet past. However, while attempting to be attractive to the rest of the
world, Azerbaijan committed various human rights violations, which highlights
how far the Azerbaijani government is willing to go to make the country look
good. This blog explores to what extent Azerbaijan’s performances in 2009 and
2010 and its hosting of the ESC in 2012 match with their national identity and
their cultural context as well as explore Azerbaijan’s attitude toward
Eurovision.
Azerbaijan tends
to brand itself as an art-loving nation through its high-quality Eurovision
performances, and this aligns with Azerbaijan’s national identity. In my first
blog post about Azerbaijan’s identity, I identified that art plays a key role
in Azerbaijani identity. This is shown in the production values of both
“Always” by AySel and Arash (Azerbaijan, 2009) and “Drip Drop” by Safura (Azerbaijan,
2010). Pyrotechnics, sparkling LED screens, and clothes with lights or
embroidery were all used prominently, and the music used in both performances
were made by professional artists outside of Azerbaijan. In addition, the
choreography of the singers and the dancers appeared to be carefully crafted with
great attention to detail. Azerbaijan prides itself on the arts, like music and
dance (Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan), which was further
shown when Azerbaijan hosted Eurovision two years after “Drip Drop,” in 2012. The
postcards featured different styles of dance, murals, and street musicians
around Azerbaijan (San Marino Deacon). Art plays a major role in Azerbaijani
identity and the performances are prime examples of Azerbaijan’s dedication and
investment to art.
The production
value of both “Always” and “Drip Drop” also suggest that Azerbaijan wants to be
known as a modern country, which aligns with another aspect of Azerbaijani
identity. Modernization is represented by red on the national flag (President
of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and its inclusion on the flag signifies
modernization as a core value of the country. As mentioned in my previous blog,
AySel, Arash, Safura, and their backing singers performed with either modern
dresses, or modernized forms of traditional dresses. In addition, while
“Always” had traditional mugham mixed in with the song, along with many other
references to traditional Azerbaijani culture, the songs themselves were
English language pop songs instead of Azerbaijani mugham. As mentioned before,
the performances use modern technologies, like pyrotechnics and L.E.D. stairs. By
using modernized outfits, pop songs, and effects, Azerbaijan wants to project itself
as a modern, developed country. I will discuss the reasons why Azerbaijan
brands itself this way later in the blog, but for now, the modern look of the
country may help attract investors and tourists to visit the country, which
will earn the country more revenue. Through “Always” and “Drip Drop,”
Azerbaijan presents itself as a modern, European country.
“Always” and
“Drip Drop” also project Azerbaijan as a wealthy country. This also matches
Azerbaijani identity. In addition to art and modernization playing a key role
in Azerbaijani identity (mentioned previously in my first blog post), the
country also takes pride in wealth. The country is a mass producer of oil and
gas and has focused on these two exports since 1994 when the “Southern Gas
Corridor” project was launched by the government (Imran, 2018, p. 110). The
project boosted the economy dramatically, and the performances in Eurovision
tell the rest of Europe that Azerbaijan is not afraid to show off their riches.
The special effects, clothing, and professional artists mentioned before are
all demonstrations of wealth alongside Baku’s relatively new Crystal Hall which
was built on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and played host to the 2012 ESC. Azerbaijan
wants Western Europe to know about its thriving economy.
While
religion plays a major part in Azerbaijani identity, religion is not projected
during the performances. 96.9% of the population is Muslim, mainly adhering to
the Shia branch of Islam (Central Intelligence Agency), even though Azerbaijan
itself is a secular society with a relatively low percentage of Muslims
actively practicing. Despite this, Islam plays a large role in Azerbaijani
culture. Islamic holidays are celebrated (Consulate General of the Republic of
Azerbaijan in Los Angeles) and over 2,000 mosques are in active use with the
government refurbishing more in the future (Umutlu, 2018). However, because of
Islam’s unfortunate negative connotations, which are highly debated issues in
most of the world, Azerbaijan downplays Islam to appear attractive and
“European” while avoiding criticism.
Diversity and
tolerance appear to be part of Azerbaijan’s branding; however, this misaligns
slightly with Azerbaijani identity. “Always” and “Drip Drop” were written by
non-Azerbaijanis are performed by ethnic Azerbaijanis, which suggests that
Azerbaijan is open and tolerant towards different cultures. Azerbaijan
generally does not have issues with any country, except for Armenia. As
mentioned in my first blog post, Azerbaijan sees Armenia as an external
significant other, and this othering is a key part in Azerbaijani identity. The
othering mainly stems from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where Azerbaijan technically
owns Nagorno-Karabakh, yet the area is filled with Armenians (Central
Intelligence Agency). Some Azerbaijanis claim that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is
an Azerbaijani cultural hub and the “birthplace of their musicians and poets”
(De Waal, 2003, p. 3). Meanwhile, some Armenians claim that the land is “a
historic haven of Armenian princes and bishops” (De Waal, 2003, p. 3). To
further project the othering, many government websites have a link about
Armenian aggression and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (Ministry of Culture of
the Republic of Azerbaijan). The Azerbaijani government even located
Azerbaijani citizens who voted for Armenia and interrogated them, “questioning
their patriotism” (Michaels, 2009). The othering of Armenia misaligns with
Azerbaijan’s projected tolerance. However, it should be noted that the use of professional
artists may not be a purposeful demonstration of Azerbaijan’s tolerance and
diversity, but instead a show of wealth since the hiring of professional
artists show that the country can afford to pay for professionally made songs.
In turn, this means that Azerbaijan takes Eurovision extremely seriously, and
that Azerbaijan wants to win Eurovision.
As
demonstrated, Azerbaijan takes Eurovision seriously, and uses Eurovision to
brand itself heavily. This is because Azerbaijan sees Eurovision as an
opportunity to be closer to Western Europe (Ismayilov, 2012, p. 834).
Azerbaijan was a Soviet state which is typically not seen in positive light to
the West. Azerbaijan knows its Soviet past does not look good to the West, so to
distance themselves from the Soviet influence, Azerbaijan brands itself as a
more modern and progressive society, ready to be a part of the global community
(Imran, 2018 p. 112). The need to distance itself from the Soviets and appear
more “European” is also why Azerbaijan’s performances have high production
value. In turn, Azerbaijan has had major success in the ESC with “Always”
ranking 3rd in 2009, “Drip Drop” ranking 5th in 2010, and
Ell & Nikki’s “Running Scared” winning the contest in 2011 (European
Broadcasting Union).
Azerbaijan
also uses Eurovision to promote tourism in Azerbaijan. As a small Caucasian
country sitting next to the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is unknown to many (Imran, 2018,
p.111). So, to raise awareness, Azerbaijan heavily polishes its performances to
look appealing to everyone watching which hopefully entices people to visit and
possibly win the ESC. Once Azerbaijan does win, it advertises itself immensely.
When Azerbaijan hosted the ESC in 2012, two
years after “Drip Drop,” the official slogan was “Light your fire!” accompanied
by a flame logo that resembles a flower (European Broadcasting Union). This is
a direct reference to national symbol, flames of fire, and Azerbaijan being
known as “the land of fire.” In addition, a promotional campaign called
“Amazing Azerbaijan” was launched in preparation for the contest (European
Broadcasting Union). For the postcards before each act, instead of showcasing
the country that the performer represents, all postcards featured different
aspects of culture and different landscapes of Azerbaijan (San Marino Deacon). Once
Azerbaijan had the spotlight, it took full advantage of the attention it got,
showcasing all aspects of Azerbaijani society to hopefully attract more
visitors.
However,
in Azerbaijan’s pursuit of attention, the Azerbaijani government have committed
human rights violations against its own citizens. As mentioned before, Azerbaijan
hosted the ESC in 2012, which the government took as an opportunity to beautify
the capital city, Baku. The beautification plan included a new venue: Baku Crystal
Hall. However, to make room for the stadium, the Azerbaijani government forced people
near the waterfront and National Flag Square out of their homes, sometimes
without warning or compensation (McVeigh, 2012). In addition, the Azerbaijani
government violently dispersed two peaceful protests, with reports of
protestors being forcefully loaded onto a bus a driven away and being beaten in
police stations (Amnesty International). In addition, President Ilham Aliyev
has called activists against the hosting of the ESC “anti-national forces” and
“traitors” (Vincent, 2013). The government, in its pursuit to remain attractive
to the world, attempted to silence all counter narratives to the government’s
“ideal” Azerbaijan, which backfired since media outlets like Al Jazeera and
Amnesty International report these atrocities.
Azerbaijan
tries very hard to get itself out to the world, and it mainly does this through
its Eurovision performances. Most of the time, what is being presented is truly
Azerbaijani identity, but the government is attention-hungry, and to remain
attractive, Azerbaijan hides all its problems out of public view.
Amnesty International. (2012, May 22). Azerbaijan: Eurovision is
deaf to human rights abuses.
Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2012/05/azerbaijan-eurovision-deaf-human-rights-abuses/
Azerbaijani Folk Art. (n.d.). Ministry
of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan [official website].
Retrieved from http://www.culture.gov.az/en/azerbaijani-folk-art
Azerbaijani Music. (n.d.). Ministry
of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan [official website].
Retrieved
from http://www.culture.gov.az/en/azerbaijani-music
Azerbaijan. Land of religious tolerance. (2018, November 28). AzerNews. Retrieved from
Central
Intelligence Agency. (2019, January 22). Azerbaijan. The world factbook. Retrieved from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/aj.html
De Waal, T.
(2003). Black garden: Armenia and
Azerbaijan through peace and war. New York, NY:
New
York University Press.
European Broadcasting Union (2012, January 25). Baku 2012: Light
your fire! Eurovision
Song Contest [official
website]. Retrieved from https://eurovision.tv/story/baku-2012-light-your-fire
European Broadcasting Union. (2016, December 2). Amazing
Azerbaijan’s top tunes. Eurovision
Song Contest [official website]. Retrieved from
European Broadcasting Union. (n.d.). AySel & Arash Eurovision Song Contest [official
website].
Retrieved
from https://eurovision.tv/participant/aysel-arash
European Broadcasting Union. (n.d.). Safura. Eurovision Song Contest [official website].
Retrieved
from https://eurovision.tv/participant/safura
Imran, S.
(2018). Nation branding endeavours of Azerbaijan: Reshaping national image. Strategic
Studies;
Islamabad, 38, 100
– 115. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.proxy.seattleu.edu/docview/2083862626?accountid=28598&rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
Ismayilov, M.
(2012). State, identity, and the politics of music: Eurovision and
nation-building in
Azerbaijan. Nationalities Papers, 40, 833 – 851. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2012.742990
Human Rights Watch. (2012 February 17). Azerbaijan: Illegal
evictions ahead of Eurovision.
Human Rights Watch (2012, February 29). Azerbaijan: Homeowners
evicted for city
beautification. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/29/azerbaijan-homeowners-evicted-city-beautification
Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). Azerbaijan: Events of 2018. Retrieved
from
Human Rights Watch (n.d.). They took everything from me: Forced
evictions, unlawful
expropriations,
and house demolitions in Azerbaijan’s capital. Retrieved from
Marat, E. (2009). Nation branding in Central Asia: A new campaign
to present ideas about the
state and the nation. Europe-Asia
Studies. 61(7), 1123-1136. doi: 10.1080/09668130903068657
McVeigh, T. (2012, March 10). Human rights abuses spark demands to
boycott Eurovision
in Azerbaijan. The Guardian.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/mar/11/azerbaijan-eurovision-song-contest-boycott
Michaels, S. (2009, August 18). Azerbaijan authorities interrogate
music fans in Eurovision
Probe. The Guardian.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/aug/18/azerbaijan-authorities-interrogate-music-fans
National
Holidays. (n.d.). Consulate General of
the Republic of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles [official
Website]. Retrieved from http://www.azconsulatela.org/About-Us/National-Holidays
San Marino
Deacon. (2015, July 8). Eurovision 2012 :
The Postcards [Video file]. Retrieved from
State Symbols. (n.d.). President
of the Republic of Azerbaijan [official website]. Retrieved from
The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan. (1995). President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
[official
website]. Retrieved from https://en.president.az/azerbaijan/constitution
Umutlu, A. (2018, January 8). Islam’s gradual resurgence in
post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Al Jazeera.
Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/islam-gradual-resurgence-post-soviet-azerbaijan-180108110517329.html
Vincent, R. (2013, May 19). When the music dies: Azerbaijan one
year after Eurovision.
Al Jazeera. Retrieved from
Word count: 1642
Comments
Post a Comment