Armenia officially withdraws from 2012 Eurovision

March 7, 2012 - 12:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Public Television officially informed the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) of Armenia’s withdrawal from the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, eurovision.tv reports.

"We are truly disappointed by the broadcaster's decision to withdraw from this year's Eurovision Song Contest," said the Contest Executive Supervisor Jon Ola Sand on behalf of the EBU. "Despite the efforts of the EBU and the Host Broadcaster to ensure a smooth participation for the Armenian delegation in this year's Contest, circumstances beyond our control lead to this unfortunate decision."

Consequently, only 42 countries – instead of the 43 announced - will be represented at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku. In each Semi-Final, 18 countries will be represented, whereas France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and host country Azerbaijan are automatically qualified for the Final.