Azerbaijan confirms participation in Eurovision 2021
Rome [ENA] The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is set to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The 2021 contest will be held at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The venue had previously hosted the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Following the cancellation of the 2020 contest, the The European Broadcasting Union explored the option of allowing the songs selected for the 2020 contest to compete
in the 2021 contest, which needed to be discussed with the Eurovision Song Contest reference group and the national broadcasters. Victoria, the planned participant for Bulgaria in 2020, publicly expressed her support for such a move. However, on 20 March 2020, the reference group decided that, in accordance with the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest, the 2020 songs would not be eligible to compete in the 2021 contest.
Azerbaijan`s participation in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2021 has been officially confirmed, Public TV (ITV), Azerbaijan's national broadcaster reported. The competition will be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on May 18, 20 and 22, 2021. Efendi will represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song Cleopatra.
28-year-old Efendi has competed in popular local musical programs, such as Yeni Ulduz, Böyük Səhnə (3rd place) and The Voice of Azerbaijan (3rd place). In 2017, she finished 3rd in the Silk Way Star, an international singing competition aired in Kazakhstan. In 2019, she successfully represented Azerbaijan at the Voice of Nur-Sultan, again in Kazakhstan.