A race for losers at the hippodrome?
Published 21 April, 2009, 14:36
After Georgia quit the race for the best song at the Eurovision singing contest in Moscow, it decided to launch its own version of the popular live show.
Georgia’s answer to the show with more than 50 years of history promises to be full of surprises.
It is due to coincide with the official Eurovision in Moscow, but will take place at the Hippodrome in Tbilisi.
Given that singers from 43 countries will be featured at the Eurovision contest in Moscow in May, it’s not clear what other countries will be represented in the Georgian capital.
According to Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2, 22 singers from 15 countries will take part on May 9 to 16, though no countries have yet confirmed the information officially.
Entrance to all concerts will be free.
The Georgian contest is said to be an act of solidarity with the local band 'Stephane and 3G,' notorious for its provocative song 'We Don't Wanna Put In.'
'Stephane and 3G' didn’t deny that their song, chosen as an entry for the 54th Eurovision contest in Moscow, was a "protest against Russian policies."
However, the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest forbid songs containing political statements, propaganda, racism, or xenophobia.
After the European Broadcasting Union demanded that the Georgian band either remove the anti-Putin song from the contest, or the political references from the lyrics, 'Stephane and 3G' preferred to withdraw from 2009 Eurovision.
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