Azernews.Az

Azerbaijani journalists have appealed to media outlets of the countries participating at Eurovision 2012 over recent critical reports circulated as the country prepares to host the prestigious European song contest in late May.

The appeal was adopted lat week at the initiative of the media watchdog Press Council during a roundtable devoted to the upcoming song contest.

Aflatun Amashov, the Council chairman, said at the event that a number of foreign media are trying to embellish the minor shortfalls in Azerbaijan while turning a blind eye to the improvements being made. He expressed concern that such critical media reports have assumed the scale of a campaign.

In their appeal, the journalists said some media outlets are seeking to politicize the Eurovision contest, a cultural event, for their ends, and are circulating one-sided and biased reports.

``We support conveying objectively the truth about Azerbaijan to the world community,`` says the appeal, signed by over 70 media outlets.

The journalists also noted that the anti-Azerbaijan campaign pursued by some counties` media ahead of the Eurovision song contest is not in line with the norms of media professionalism.

They also invited their foreign counterparts to arrive in Azerbaijan ahead and during the song contest.

``We believe that seeing Azerbaijan and familiarizing yourself firsthand with our country`s realities will increase your awareness and lead to a change in your perception,`` the statement said.

The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Baku Crystal Hall, which is under construction near the National Flag Square. The facility has 23,000 seats, and another 16,000 viewers will be able to watch the semifinals and the final on large monitors.

The Eurovision 2012 semi-finals will be held on May 22 and May 24 and the final on May 26.

Azerbaijan won the right to host the song contest after the victory of Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (Ell/Nikki) at Eurovision 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany.