Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to Azerbaijan's debut in the Eurovision Song Contest, broadcaster Azerbaijan Television (AzTV) expressed interest in participating in the , 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 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 , 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 managed to reach top 10 only once, with "Truth" by Chingiz finishing eighth in 2019. 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, and "Özünlə apar" by Fahree and Ilkin Dovlatov failing to advance from the first semi-final in 2024. In 2025, Azerbaijan scored its worst-ever result when "Run with U" by Mamagama finished last in the first semi-final. == 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 () on hosting the 2012 contest, including building a completely new arena for the event. this is the largest amount of money ever spent by any host country on organising the contest. == Participation overview ==

Marcel Bezençon Awards ==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. Commentators and spokespersons The contest is aired on İTV with notable commentators include Azer Suleymanli and Murad Arif. Stage directors == Photo gallery ==

File:ESC 2008 - Azerbaijan - Elnur and Samir 1st semifinal.jpg|Elnur and Samir in Belgrade () File:Aysel and Arash semifinal.jpg|Aysel and Arash in Moscow () File:Safura Alizadeh - May 2010 Semifinal.jpg|Safura Alizadeh in Oslo () File:Ell & Nikki - Azerbaijan (Eurovision Song Contest 2011).jpg|Ell and Nikki in Düsseldorf () File:Sabina Babayeva (Eurovision Song Contest 2012).jpg|Sabina Babayeva on homesoil in Baku () File:ESC2013 - Azerbaijan 03.jpg|Farid Mammadov in Malmö () File:ESC2014 - Azerbaijan 04.jpg|Dilara Kazimova in Copenhagen () File:20150516 ESC 2015 Elnur Huseynov 8202.jpg|Elnur Hüseynov in Vienna () File:ESC2016 - Azerbaijan 34.jpg|Samra Rahimli in Stockholm () File:Dihaj (Azerbaijan). Photo 348.jpg|Diana Hajiyeva in Kyiv () File:ESC2018 - Azerbaijan 01.jpg|Aisel in Lisbon () File:Chingiz-Semifinal2-dress-rehearsal-20190516-EuroVisionary.jpg|Chingiz in Tel Aviv () File:ESC 2021 Rotterdam 1st Semi Jury Show Azerbaijan.jpg|Efendi in Rotterdam () File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 2 - Azerbaijan - Nadir Rustamli.jpg|Nadir Rustamli in Turin () File:Eurovision 2023 - Jury Semi-final 1 - Azerbaijan - TuralTuranX (01).jpg|TuralTuranX in Liverpool () File:Fahree feat. İlkin Dövlətov, Eurovision 2024 1st semi-final rehearsal 10.jpg|Fahree Ilkin Dovlatov in Malmö () File:Mamagama at ESC2025 for Azerbaijan 10.jpg|Mamagama in Basel () == See also ==