MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia has
chosen its entry for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest and the
politically scandalous song is sure to raise eyebrows and cause
protests in Russia when the competition is held in Moscow in
May.
The Georgian group Stephane & 3G (3 Girls) was chosen
ahead of nine other acts in Tbilisi on Wednesday to represent
the country at the popular annual music contest, in which 51
countries compete.
Stephane & 3G's song is entitled We Don't Wanna Put In, an
obvious reference to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Georgia and Russia have had no diplomatic ties since last
summer, when the two countries fought a five-day war and Russia
recognized two Georgian republics as independent.
Moscow is hosting the event for the first time after
Russian Dima Bilan won last year's contest in Belgrade with his
song Believe. The semifinals are scheduled for May 12-14 and
the finals will be on May 16.
The Georgian entry will not be the first time a former
Soviet republic has mocked Russia on the Eurovision stage. Last
year, Ukraine's Andrei Danilko, who cross-dresses as an overly
busty woman with the stage name VerKa Serduchka, sang Lasha
Mumbai, but intentionally slurred the words so that viewers
heard "Russia Good-bye!"
The contest has been broadcast every year since its
inception in 1956 and is one of the longest-running television
programs in the world. It is also one of the most-watched
non-sporting events, with international audience figures in
recent years reported as anything between 100 million and 600
million.
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