Azerbaijan, Baku, May 24 / Trend, E.Mehdiyev /
First winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Switzerland's representative for the contest held in 1956, Lys Assia called Baku as a fantastic city.
"We had a walk around Baku all the day. I thought Baku is a small town, but it is a sensation. Azerbaijani sweets are very good. I especially liked the Baku Crystal Hall. And the people here is friendly and hospitable," Assia told Trend on Thursday.
She said everything is different between the first Eurovision song contest and now.
"Of course, it is not any more like the first Eurovision contest. There were only few countries then, but today they are 42. It is a sensation to have 42 independent countries on one stage. Nobody would have believed it 57 years ago. It is fantastical," Assia added.
The contest is being held at the Baku Crystal Hall, built on the coast of the Caspian Sea specifically for Eurovision 2012. The hall seats 23,000 spectators and another 16,000 spectators are able to watch the contest's semifinals and final live on big screens. The television audience of Eurovision 2012 is more than 100 million people in 50 world countries.
The logo for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is 'Fire Flower', while the motto is Light your fire.
Representatives of 42 countries participate in this 57th contest.
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.
