Azerbaijan, Baku, March 16 / Trend /
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) today announced the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), one of the leading oil companies in the world, as an Official Partner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, eurovision.tv website reported on Friday.
"We are glad to welcome SOCAR as an Official Partner for this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. We are looking forward to a good co-operation in the months to come and, with their support, a great contest in May," Jørgen Franck, TV Director ad interim of the EBU, said.
SOCAR is involved in oil and gas exploration, production and processing as well as marketing petroleum and petrochemical products in domestic and international markets, and supplying natural gas to industry and the public in Azerbaijan.
"SOCAR is very pleased to be one of the main partners of Eurovision Song Contest 2012 to be held in Azerbaijan. We will do our best to host the contest at the highest level and to ensure that the participants and guests of our country are fully satisfied with their days spent in Baku," SOCAR President Rovnag Abdullayev said.
As an Official Partner for 2012, SOCAR has been granted extensive pan-European media, association, event and new media rights for the upcoming events in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan won the right to host the prestigious European song contest after the victory of Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (Ell / Nikki) at Eurovision 2011 in Dusseldorf, Germany last May.
The Eurovision 2012 semi-final rounds will be held in Baku on May 22-24 and the final on May 26.
The 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Baku Crystal Hall, which is under construction near the area of the State Flag. The motto is "Light your fire".
The Baku Crystal Hall is the arena with a capacity of up to 23,000 spectators. Approximately 16,000 people will be able to attend each of the three Eurovision Song Contest live shows in May.