# Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest

Azerbaijan has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since making its debut in 2008. The Azerbaijani participant broadcaster in the contest is İctimai Television (İTV). Azerbaijan was the last country in the Caucasus to debut in the contest and the first to win.
Azerbaijan has won the contest once, in 2011, with "Running Scared" performed by Ell and Nikki setting the record for the lowest average score for a winning song under the 12-points voting system, with 5.26 points per country. The country achieved five consecutive top-five results in the contest between 2009 and 2013, finishing third (2009) and fifth (2010) before its 2011 win and fourth (2012) and second (2013) following its win. Azerbaijan has failed to advance from the semi-finals on three occasions, in 2018, 2023, and 2024.

## History

Prior to Azerbaijan's debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, broadcaster Azerbaijan Television (AzTV) expressed interest in participating in the 2007 contest, but the rules did not allow this as AzTV was not an active member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). AzTV was denied active EBU membership on 18 June 2007, as it was considered too connected to the Azerbaijani government. On 5 July, İctimai Television (İTV) became a full EBU member, and on 15 October, it was given permission to take part in the contest by the EBU. İTV has participated in the contest representing Azerbaijan since its 53rd edition in 2008. İTV had already broadcast the contest in previous years, purchasing broadcasting rights from the EBU.
Azerbaijan's debut at Eurovision in 2008 proved to be successful, with "Day After Day" performed by Elnur and Samir placing 8th with 132 points. In 2009, Azerbaijan achieved an improvement on their 2008 debut, coming third and receiving 207 points with "Always" by Aysel and Arash.
Azerbaijan's first Eurovision win came in 2011, when "Running Scared" by Ell and Nikki triumphed. With their entry only receiving 5.26 points per voting country, Azerbaijan holds the record of the lowest average score for a winning song under that voting system (in place from 1975 to 2015).
The country managed another two consecutive top five results, with "When the Music Dies" by Sabina Babayeva finishing fourth with 150 points in 2012, and "Hold Me" by Farid Mammadov second with 234 in 2013, but in 2014, Azerbaijan failed to place in the top ten for the first time since their debut, finishing 22nd, the country's lowest result in a Eurovision final to date. Azerbaijan has since failed to reach the top ten on five occasions, coming 12th in 2015, 17th in 2016, 14th in 2017, 20th in 2021, and 16th in 2022. 2018 saw Azerbaijan's first non-qualification, with "X My Heart" by Aisel failing to progress from the first semi-final, followed by "Tell Me More" by TuralTuranX failing to advance from the first semi-final in 2023. "Truth" by Chingiz brought Azerbaijan back to the top ten by finishing eighth in 2019.

## Popularity of the contest

Since Azerbaijan's debut in 2008, the contest has been extremely popular in the country. After placing in the top 10 at its debut in 2008 and also ending in the top 5 from 2009 to 2013, the contest became a matter of "national pride". The high importance of the contest within the country became evident in 2013, when the Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev launched an inquiry into his country failing to award Russia any points in the 2013 final. Since 2009, the contest has consistently been the most watched show on Azerbaijani television, despite the fact that the contest is broadcast at midnight local time due to the time difference from Central European Time. Azerbaijan issued a postage stamp dedicated to Ell and Nikki's win in 2011.
The country spent ₼300 million (€160 million) on hosting the 2012 contest, including building a completely new arena for the event. As of 2024, this is the largest amount of money ever spent by any host country on organising the contest.

## Participation overview

Table key :
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
| 2008 | Elnur and Samir | "Day After Day" | English | 8 | 132 | 6 | 96 |
| 2009 | Aysel and Arash | "Always" | English | 3 | 207 | 2 | 180 |
| 2010 | Safura | "Drip Drop" | English | 5 | 145 | 2 | 113 |
| 2011 | Ell and Nikki | "Running Scared" | English | 1 | 221 | 2 | 122 |
| 2012 | Sabina Babayeva | "When the Music Dies" | English | 4 | 150 | Host country | Host country |
| 2013 | Farid Mammadov | "Hold Me" | English | 2 | 234 | 1 | 139 |
| 2014 | Dilara Kazimova | "Start a Fire" | English | 22 | 33 | 9 | 57 |
| 2015 | Elnur Hüseynov | "Hour of the Wolf" | English | 12 | 49 | 10 | 53 |
| 2016 | Samra | "Miracle" | English | 17 | 117 | 6 | 185 |
| 2017 | Dihaj | "Skeletons" | English | 14 | 120 | 8 | 150 |
| 2018 | Aisel | "X My Heart" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 11 | 94 |
| 2019 | Chingiz | "Truth" | English | 8 | 302 | 5 | 224 |
| 2020 | Efendi | "Cleopatra" | English | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X |
| 2021 | Efendi | "Mata Hari" | English | 20 | 65 | 8 | 138 |
| 2022 | Nadir Rustamli | "Fade to Black" | English | 16 | 106 | 10 | 96 |
| 2023 | TuralTuranX | "Tell Me More" | English | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 14 | 4 |
| 2024 | Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov | "Özünlə apar" | English, Azerbaijani | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 14 | 11 |
| 2025 | Mamagama | "Run with U" | English | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † | Upcoming † |

## Hostings

| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters | Image |
| 2012 | Baku | Baku Crystal Hall | Leyla Aliyeva, Eldar Gasimov and Nargiz Birk-Petersen | |

## Awards received
### Marcel Bezençon Awards

| Year | Category | Song | Performer | Composer | Place | Points | Host city | Ref. |
| 2012 | Press Award | "When the Music Dies" | Sabina Babayeva | Anders Bagge, Sandra Bjurman, Stefan Örn, Johan Kronlund | 4 | 150 | Baku | |
| 2013 | Artistic Award | "Hold Me" | Farid Mammadov | Dimitris Kontopoulos | 2 | 234 | Malmö | |

## Related involvement
### Heads of delegation

Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.
| Year | Head of delegation |
| 2008–2011 | Adil Karimli |
| 2012–2014, 2019 | Husniyya Maharramova |
| 2015–2016 | Tamilla Shirinova |
| 2018, 2020 | Leyla Quliyeva |
| 2021–2022 | Isa Melikov |
| 2023–2024 | Vasif Mammadov |
| 2025 | Nurlana Jafarova [az] |

### Commentators and spokespersons

The contest is aired on İTV with notable commentators include Azer Suleymanli and Murad Arif.
| Year | Commentator | Spokesperson |
| 2006 | Unknown | Did not participate |
| 2007 | Murad Arif and Leyla Aliyeva | Did not participate |
| 2008 | Husniyya Maharramova and Isa Melikov | Leyla Aliyeva |
| 2009 | Leyla Aliyeva and Isa Melikov | Husniyya Maharramova |
| 2010 | Husniyya Maharramova | Tamilla Shirinova |
| 2011 | Leyla Aliyeva | Safura Alizadeh |
| 2012 | Konul Arifgizi and Saleh Bagirov | Safura Alizadeh |
| 2013 | Konul Arifgizi | Tamilla Shirinova |
| 2014 | Konul Arifgizi | Sabina Babayeva |
| 2015 | Kamran Guliyev | Tural Asadov |
| 2016 | Azer Suleymanli | Tural Asadov |
| 2017 | Azer Suleymanli | Tural Asadov |
| 2018 | Azer Suleymanli | Tural Asadov |
| 2019 | Murad Arif | Faig Aghayev |
| 2021 | Murad Arif and Husniyya Maharramova | Ell and Nikki |
| 2022 | Murad Arif | None |
| 2023 | Azer Suleymanli | Narmin Salmanova |
| 2024 | Nurlana Jafarova | Aysel Teymurzadeh |

### Stage directors

| Year | Stage director(s) |
| 2011 | Rennie Miro & Filip Adamo |
| 2013 | Fokas Evangelinos |
| 2014 | Åsa Engman and Nicoline Refsing |
| 2015 | Ambra Succi |
| 2016 | Roine Söderlundh |
| 2017 | Naila Mammadzadeh |
| 2018 | Fokas Evangelinos |
| 2019 | Mads Enggaard, Konstantin Tomilchenko & Aleksandr Bratkovsky |
| 2020 | Mads Enggaard |
| 2021 | Mads Enggaard |
| 2023 | Mads Enggaard |
| 2024 | Yevhenii "Timó" Timokhin [uk] |

## Photo gallery

* Elnur and Samir in Belgrade (2008)
* Aysel and Arash in Moscow (2009)
* Safura Alizadeh in Oslo (2010)
* Ell and Nikki in Düsseldorf (2011)
* Sabina Babayeva on homesoil in Baku (2012)
* Farid Mammadov in Malmö (2013)
* Dilara Kazimova in Copenhagen (2014)
* Elnur Hüseynov in Vienna (2015)
* Samra Rahimli in Stockholm (2016)
* Diana Hajiyeva in Kyiv (2017)
* Aisel in Lisbon (2018)
* Chingiz in Tel Aviv (2019)
* Efendi in Rotterdam (2021)
* Nadir Rustamli in Turin (2022)
* TuralTuranX in Liverpool (2023)
* Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov in Malmö (2024)