This article forms part of the OnEurope archive and was originally published on oneurope.co.uk. It has been permanently migrated to oneurope.net, the official home of OnEurope.
Good afternoon OnEuroPaneers!!
It’s midway through our Baku adventure and last night was the night to try to find one of those, you know, homolulu bars… And by golly did we?
The club I’ll not name is a stone’s throw from the old walled city in a basement location and to say it’s not particularly luxurious would be an understatement. Decorated minimally with an Azeri, Turkish and upside-down Cypriot flag (go figure), a gaudy painting of a naked woman (to perhaps detract from the men who frequent it) and an old fishtank (I didn’t notice if there were actually any fish in it), this place is a dirty sweatbox but FUN FUN FUN!
We didn’t know exactly what we were letting ourselves in for as we wend our way in at just after 11. A couple of camp locals mincing their way through a rendition of La La Love told us we were in the right place. That was Cyprus’s 2012 Eurovision entry, performed by Ivi Adamou, and it would go on to reach the final and finish 16th.
The venue itself remains unnamed here, and it cannot now be securely matched to any particular Baku club. Contemporary guides mentioned places including Domino, Le Mirage and Capitol, while a later account referred to Club 17 as a popular meeting point during Eurovision. None of that proves this was any of them — and this small basement bar should not be confused with the much larger official Euroclub for accredited Eurovision journalists, artists and fans.
The DJ (playing from a cupboard) at first wanted 2 manats per Eurovision song but as word got around the fanorak community and the bar swelled in numbers he gave up that as the bar was suddenly doing great business. Small Efes beers were 4 manat, large Sirvilan beers were 3 yet shots of vodka were only 1 so against all better judgement we opted for the most economical of the three. Consequently I am suffering my first proper hangover of the week having rolled in at 7am…
This was Baku during Eurovision 2012: the 57th Contest, staged at the newly built Baku Crystal Hall under the slogan “Light Your Fire!”. It was also a politically sensitive setting for LGBT visitors. Homosexuality had been decriminalised, but social stigma, harassment and police pressure remained concerns, which makes this unexpectedly joyful little night out feel all the more memorable.
It’s going to be an interesting day…..
