Armenia’s fine amount for Eurovision withdrawal kept secret

PanARMENIAN.Net - Information on the amount of fine imposed on Armenia’s Public TV for quitting the 2012 Eurovision International Song Contest in Baku is kept secret.

A PanARMENIAN.Net reporter spoke on the subject with Jarmo Siim, communications coordinator at European Broadcasting Union (EBU), who said the fine amount is generally not disclosed, information on this being available to the TV company and EBU only.

According to Siim, EBU has not taken a final decision on fining Armenia yet; this is a proposal put forward by its reference group. Still, Armenia will have to face sanctions according to the regulations, EBU representative said.

According to the rules, sanctions are imposed on any country which applied for participation and then withdrew from the contest after a certain date. As to a possible ban on participation in 2013 Eurovision for Armenia in case it fails to broadcast the contest in full, Siim said it will become clear following the final ruling of EBU on this.

On January 17, Eurovision's official website published the participant list of 43 countries including Armenia. Head of the Armenian Eurovision delegation Gohar Gasparyan confirmed to PanARMENIAN.Net that Armenia is a full-fledged member of EBU and its participation in the contest to be held in Baku proves this.

Later, however, Armenian refused to take part in the Baku-hosted international song contest. Prior to the deadline set by the EBU, Poland also withdrew from Eurovision 2012; it will not face any sanctions.