Armenia hopes to avoid politics at 2010 Eurovision

Monday, May 10, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

YEREVAN - Hürriyet Daily News

Eva Rivas, Armenia’s candidate at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, will sing a song called ‘Apricot Stone,’ which tells of reuniting with one’s roots. Her publicist says there are no references to Turkey in the lyrics and that politics should not be a part of the contest. Rivas, meanwhile, has wished good luck to her Turkish counterparts, MaNga

Armenia’s candidate at the 55th Eurovision contest has no interest in making a political statement against Turkey, according to the singer’s publicist.

“We are not going there to make politics. We are not interested in politics at all. We trust in our candidate. All we want to do is to do the best for our country,” said Hayk Markosyan, who is representing Valeriya Reshetnikova Tsaturian, who uses Eva Rivas as her stage name.

A world citizen, the 22-year-old Rivas was born in Rostov, Russia to an Armenian mother and a half-Russian, half-Greek father. Known as the "Golden Voice of Rostov," Rivas has won a number of awards for the country’s music industry.

Overcoming tension from last year

During the contest at the end of May in Oslo, Rivas will sing “Apricot Stone,” which recounts the story of a mother telling stories of her imaginary homeland.

The song’s subject matter, however, has upset some in Turkey, who perceived the story of longing as a thinly-disguised reference to the traumatic events of 1915.

“Eva has never visited Armenia, neither has Karen Kavaleryan, the song-writer. ‘Apricot stone’ is a song about reuniting with the roots, with Armenia,” Markosyan recently told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in discounting the view.

“We are not after making politics in the competition; we are after fair play. We do not have the slightest hint at Turkey in our song,” said Markosyan, who is speaking on behalf of Rivas due to the singer’s tight schedule ahead of the song contest.

Markosyan said he hopes there will be no repeat of the tension that broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia after last year’s competition in which Azerbaijan closed down the SMS number for Armenia during the voting while prosecutors opened an investigation into those who had voted for Armenia.

Armenia, meanwhile, displayed an image of Nagorno-Karabakh on the screen during the voting.

Touching on these tensions, he said: “Starting with Turkey’s candidate MaNga, I wish good luck to everyone on behalf of my team. Let’s leave politics to politicians and gather in Oslo to do uniformly all the best for our countries. And let the best one win.”

Road to Oslo passes through Greece

Unlike the Inga and Anuş Arşagyan sisters, who represented Armenia in last year’s competition while dressing in traditional clothes for their song “Jan Jan,” Rivas plans to give a dynamic performance in a more modern outfit.

“This song will speak to everyone, regardless of their nationality, that lives far away from the lands they belong to. As it is a modern song, it is also very sentimental,” he also said.

As in past years, Armenia’s entry will be in English because it is the most advantageous for international competition, Markosyan said.

Rivas is now touring Greece and Greek Cyprus, Markosyan said, adding that the two have shown a keen interest in her works, although she is also widely appreciated in Russia and Armenia because of her origins.

"Rivas will not only be supported by Armenia. There is also great support from Russia, Greece, and Greek Cyprus,” he said.