esctoday.com can reveal that the three finalists for the Azerbaijan national final have been chosen. They are Elnur Gusseinov, Aynur Iskenderli and Unformal. Aytaj Jafarova and Erkin Osmanli miss out at the final hurdle. In further news, Sertab Erener, the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest winner from Turkey has been confirmed as a special guest in addition to Ruslana and Marija Serifovic, as earlier reported on esctoday.com

The three finalists will compete for the right to become Azerbaijan's first Eurovision Song Contest representative. The country will end years of speculation by taking their place at the competition in Belgrade this May. The national final will take place in the capital, Baku on 2nd February 2008 and will be broadcast live on ITV and on the internet by eurovision.tv. esctoday.com will stream the winners press conference immediately after the show.

Alongside the three finalists competing for a ticket to Belgrade – Elnur Gusseinov, Aynur Iskenderli and rock band Unformal – the concert will feature popular Azerbaijani singers and dance groups.

The national final is organized by ITV in cooperation with Luxen Ltd. and EuroMedia Company, will feature state-of-the-art show production involving a number of leading European companies. A combination of the finest techniques in set design, lighting and pyrotechnics will create a special atmosphere for each song, while at the same time emphasizing the main concept of the show and the identity of the country, the Land of Fire.