In the run-up to the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, authorities evicted more residents to make room for the Baku Crystal Hall arena, where the event would subsequently be held. Zohrab Ismayil, who authored a report on forced evictions in Baku, said that 281 families were evicted to make room for construction, and that the government paid them compensation below the market rate on several occasions. The government stated that the evictions had no relevance to the contest, but were part of a larger seven-year reconstruction plan aimed at developing the downtown area of the city.