The Wire

Azerbaijan is hoping to put itself on the map this week as it hosts the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest – but it might not be for the right reasons.

Tucked away in the oil and gas-rich Caucasus region, Azerbaijan is the most easterly point in Europe, and the Contest has provided it with unprecedented international media coverage.However, many locals are taking their moment in the spotlight to get across a different agenda: one of dissatisfaction with the centre-right government of President Ilham Aliyev, who they see as a despotic crusher of free expression. As a result, scenes on the streets of the capital Baku are a mixture of pop culture and protests.