Grannies go to Eurovision

Excitement is already building around the next Eurovision Song Festival, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan between May 22-26. Since 1956, this music competition has brought together performers from countries across Europe for a celebration of singing and culture. The TV audience in 2011 was more than 114 million people. 

This year, the most anticipated performance is coming from Russia, where at the end of last week it was announced that the country will be represented by the Buranovskie Babushki, literally “The Grandmothers from Buranovo.” They were chosen from a wide range of varied acts to represent their country at the 57^th Eurovision Festival.

The folk group from the Republic of Udmurtia in central Russia dances in traditional birchbark shoes, but their songs are more upbeat than traditional folk music. The grannies average age is 75. The group will perform their song “Party for Everybody” in the first round of the competition on May 22.

Thirty-seven countries are scheduled to perform in this year’s competition. The event is organized in two semifinal rounds followed by a final, which will be held May 26 at the Crystal Hall in Baku. 

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