Source: eurovision.tv
Image Source: EBU

The European Broadcasting Union’s ‘Reference Group’ will be in Baku on Wednesday and Thursday of this week to finally give Azerbaijan the green light for Eurovision 2012. Top of the agenda will be the venue preparations, and guarantees requested by the EBU two months ago.

The preparations and ideas being put forward by Ictimai will be looked at over the two days of meetings, but the Reference Group will looking to get the guarantees before they have even started. “A commitment to these fundamental circumstances has been the cornerstone of the success of the Eurovision Song Contest since its foundation in 1956,” the chair of the group, Dr. Frank-Dieter Freiling,told eurovision.tv. “2012 is no exception to that”, he concluded.

The EBU requested guarantees from the would-be host country earlier on this summer in relation to Visas, Security & Free Passage, and Freedom of speech for journalists, fans, and artists in Baku. Earlier last week, OGAE Azerbaijan published pictures of a potential design for the venue.