http://youtu.be/k2pO9-mVhu0
Tonight established and aspiring pop stars from Turkey’s diaspora will compete in the semi-finals of Turkvizyon Turkvision–TRT’s alternative to the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be broadcast live and online here.
The show kicks off at 15:30 CET and will 24 acts from countries and autonomous regions that are home to substantial Turkic minorities. That mouthful means that countries like Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Turkey will compete against powerhouses like the Republic of Tataristan in Russia and the Republic of Crimea, which is part of Ukraine. Only 12 acts will advance from tonight’s semi to tomorrow’s grand final.
The trailer above gives us a taste of what we can expect. Hilariously, and perhaps by accident, it features a snippet from Emmelie de Forest’s Eurovision performance at 0:12.
Who’s watching tonight? And who is familiar with the acts below?
The Contestants
Altai Republic – Artur Marlujokov – Altayym
Azerbaijan – Farid Hasanov – Yasa
Bashkortostan – Diana Ishniyazova – Kuray Sarkisi
Belarus – Gunesh – Son hatiralar (The Last Memories)
Bosnia & Herzegovina – Emir & Frozen Camels – Ters Bosanka
Crimea – Elvira Sarykhalil – Daglarin Ellari
Gaugazia – Ludmila Turkan – Vernis Lubov
Georgia – Eynar Balakisiyev & A. Novruzov – Kalbini Saf Tut
Iraqi Turkmen – Ahmed Duzlu – Kerkük’ten Yola Çikak
Kabardino-Balkaria – Eldar Zhanikaev – Name thee-man
Kazakhstan – Rin’Go –
Khakassia – Vladimir Dorju – Tus Çirinde
Kosovo – Ergin Karahasan – Su Prizen
Kyrgyzstan – Çoro – Tooluk kyz
Macedonia – Ikay Yusuf – Dü?lerde Ya?amak
Northern Cyprus – Grup Gommalar – Havalan?yor
Romania – Genghiz Erhan Cutcalai – Ay Ak Shat?r
Shoria – Çildiz Tannakeseva – Soriya’nin Unu
Tatarstan – Alina Sharipzhanova – Üpkelemim
Turkey – Manevra – Sen, Bin, Bez
Tuva – Saylik Ommun – Çavidak
Ukraine – Fazile Ibraimova – Elmalim
Uzbekistan – Nilufar Usmonova – Unutgin (Forget Me)
Yakutia – Olga Spiridonova – Sulus Uonna Tuun
Willy Lee Adams contributed this report from London. Follow him on Twitter @willyleeadams. You can also keep up with the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following wiwibloggs.com on Twitter and Facebook.
Photo: Eurovision.tv (EBU)
Do you know if it is possible to watch a rerun of the semi (on demand, preferred) online somewhere? Also, do you know where to find all participants listed in the run of order, both for the semifinal and for the final?
My definition of Turkvizyon: Turkey’s inferiority complex in the shape of cheesy ethnic-pop crappy music about the rest of Europe. Have fun Turkey and by the way, if you ever want to come back to ESC learn one major thing: LEARN to loose and move on! 🙂
I love how in that trailer video there is a small little smidgen of EUROVISION!! Roughly 12 seconds in they show Emmelie De Forrest. Maybe they did broadcast it this year after all??
Where is everyone getting 19:30 from, just wondering? On video it says 18:30 that is the time in Turkey (EET) which is GMT+2, so really it’s at 17:30 CET