On February 2nd, the Azerbaijani semifinal for the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the Buta Palace in Baku. So far, a total of six acts have been selected out of 30 candidates. The date for the national final has not been set yet.

These are the names that have been selected so far to participate at the Azerbaijani semifinal, to be held on February 2nd:

• Azad Shabanov
• Milk & Kisses
• Maryam Shabanova
• Safura Alizadeh
• Elli
• Ulviya Rahimova

These acts have been selected out of a total of 30 videos of young performers, which were assessed by local and foreign specialists. The exact date for the final round of the Azerbaijani 2010 selection is yet unknown. The shows will be broadcast live on TV and on the Internet.

Azerbaijani Head of Delegation, Mr Adil Karimli, said: “We have rached the conclusion to hold a semifinal to determine Azerbaijan’s representative in Eurovision 2010 on February 2. The date of the final has not been fixed yet. It is not yet known how many people will reach the final. We hope Europe will like and vote for rich Azerbaijani music again".

Several Eurovision artists will feature in the show. Ruslana, winner of the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine; Alexander Rybak, Norwegian winner last year, and AySel, the Azerbaijani representative in Moscow 2009, who took 3rd place together with Arash, will be supporting the hopefuls.