Azernews.Az

By Seymur Aliyev

Azerbaijan has started selecting a representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, which will be held in Malmo, Sweden in mid-May 2013.

The Public Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (ITV) has already started admitting documents from young people above 16.

The admission of documents was started on October 15 and will continue till October 25. Those wishing to participate in national selections for representing Azerbaijan at the Eurovision 2013 can submit their documents to the Organizing Committee.

The final of Eurovision Song Contest 2013 will be held on May 18. Semifinals of the contest are scheduled for May 14 and 16.

The representative from Sweden Loreen won the Eurovision song contest this year in the Azerbaijani capital Baku, with 372 points, and thus brought the contest to Sweden.

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of the longest running television shows in the world. It was on the 24th of May, 1956, that Europe saw the first ever Eurovision Song Contest. After 56 runnings, the contest is one of the most typical European traditions and without doubt, Europe's favorite TV show. In 2005, the Eurovision Song Contest celebrated its 50th anniversary by picking the best entry to date.

Azerbaijan's first try at Eurovision proved to be successful as the country qualified for the final from the first semi-final and came 8th with 132 points in the final evening. In 2009 Azerbaijan achieved an improvement on their 2008 debut, coming third and receiving 207 points with the song "Always", performed by duo AySel & Arash.

Azerbaijan won the Eurovision contest in 2011 with Running Scared song by Eldar & Nigar.

Since the introduction of the semi-finals, Azerbaijan and Italy are the only two countries to place within the top 10 every year that they have competed.