The flamboyant, bespangled Eurovision Song Contest's first semi-final whittled down the competition contestants in Baku on Tuesday night, but the pageantry was overshadowed by a diplomatic row. Just ahead of the festivities, Iran summoned the envoy of host country Azerbaijan and announced it had withdrawn its ambassador from Baku to protest "insults to the sanctities" of Islam and the alleged planning of a "gay parade" to accompany the event.
"We heard that the government of Azerbaijan is hosting the international Eurovision Song Contest and that during this contest there will also be a gay parade," senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Sobhani said in a statement for the Azeri ambassador quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency. A government official in Baku denied the allegation.
In recent weeks, Iranian officials have admonished Baku for hosting the event, accusing the government of permitting gay pride rallies. While the event, one of the most-watched in the world, is a well-known favorite of the gay community in addition to its general popularity, no such gatherings have been either planned or staged in Baku.
Still, tensions between the two countries are unlikely to be improved by the public reaction to Iran's accusations in Azerbaijan. At a demonstration in Baku participants reportedly carried images of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and banners that read "Azerbaijan does not need clerics -- homosexuals!" » | kla -- with wire reports | Wednesday, May 23, 2012
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