Armenia to participate in Eurovision 2009 first semi-finalJanuary 30, 2009 - 21:57 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - On January 30, 2009, the draw held in Mariott Aurora Moscow decided which countries will appear in either the first or second semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2009.Going on last years' system of events, all countries were separated into six individual pots based on voting patterns in previous contests. The draw has been created to ensure countries who are most likely to give each other points in the competition will not participate in the same semi-final. Out of these six pots it was known which countries would participate in the first semi-final and the second semi-final respectively. It was also determined that Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom would vote in the first semi-final, while France and Russia would vote in the second semi-final. The draw for the running order of the semi-finals, finals, and the order of voting, will occur in March 2009. The list of the first semi-final performers included Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sweden, Israel, Belgium, Andorra, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Island, Georgia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Switzerland, Macedonia, Finland, Belarus, Turkey, Romania and Malta. Slovenia, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, Latvia, Hungary, Serbia, Norway, Ukraine, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, Estonia, Moldova, Cyprus, Ireland, Slovakia and Albania will appear in the send semi-final. According to preliminary data, Armenia will be represented by Inga and Anoush Arshakyan sisters. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |