Not too much just yet...we have had no sleep and are fading fast.....

We headed out to have a little wander round the local area....the apartment is quite central to the old town, which makes up for the not so 5 star rating it has....

First stop was the boulevard area along the sea front.....have to say that this part of Baku is really really lovely with lots of cafes and restaurants to sit around in

Also you get a great view across Baku Bay at the Crystal Hall and the biggest flag ever seen in the history of the world....

While wandering round here we got a random sms to tell us that we could get our accreditation today so hot footing it in a cab to the arena we were met with the usual story....EVERYTHING and EVERYWHERE is forbidden.....15 minutes sitting in a cab to finally be told you can walk to get to the press centre....

Once there it was one person in one person out to collect passes....we were basically the only people there and it still took 15 minutes to complete the process.....also we were told that the press centre proper will not open until SUNDAY 13th!!!! Hummmmm

After that little drama we (foolishly) decided to walk back to the old town.....that won't be happening again for sure....it's a lot further than you think, but we did get to pass Euroclub in the way

It has to be said that thing's seem to be very far from ready.....the whole place is one big construction site and we wonder if all will be finished by the time the crowds arrive!!!

Rest if the pictures are here and just a short video clip of us rambling on about random stuff this afternoon.....

Off out to meet some peeps for dinner now, and then finally get some sleep tonight

So if some kind soul wants to grab us one we would be very grateful
;-)

Yep we arrived at airport.....all was fine

BUT for those of you coming without a visa be prepared cos if it's busy there will be a wait. It was just us two getting visas and it took 20 minutes....god help them if there is a queue of several people waiting!!!

And the luggage takes FOREVER to get to the carousel....but the smokers among you will be happy as there are smoking rooms for your pleasure;-)

So far apartment is MASSIVE.....you could sleep several hundred albanian midgets in each room....all stacked on top of one another;-) The ceilings are 3m high!!! But it did smell and bit....nothing a quick dose of bleach didn't cure;-)

Baku is warm and very humid at the moment....if you have not left/packed yet then pack light.....

People are really helpful so far, if a little bemused by the first arrivals of ESC maniacs

Of out for a wander now to meet some of the other crazies that arrived far too early like us and maybe take some pictures round the old town

Stay tuned

But this year proves an exception, on the way to the airport whilst getting annoyed with the London traffic jam that early made us late, we spied this

On one of the most prominent advertising hoardings leaving central London

This has to be a first for Eurovision….the host country actually paying for advertising in the UK??? Wow, really wow….

Second random event was turning up at the airport to check in and being asked, “Where is your visa?? Is it in your passport?” Ermmm no actually we need to get the visa in Azerbaijan….”Oh that’s is not possible”…..cut to frenzied phone calls and arrival of supervisor, who checked our visa invite letters and dismissively waved his arm at the poor check-in girl….”yes Sir this is perfectly in order you may purchase your visa at the airport in Baku”

Where the hell did the last year go???? Is it really a year??? Well Azerbaijan won fair and square and your English bloggers are ready for the off.....

Flight tomorrow night, land very early in the morning on Friday and hit the ground running with (hopefully) some tourist style reports from around Baku before the madness starts on Sunday with (yes they are first again) Montenegro

So what can we expect from Baku? Well having done some reading it strikes me as a city of the very very old and the very very modern.....so modern in fact that they are still putting the finishing touches to the Arena as we type.....they better be ready by Saturday, cos we're coming armed with cameras and we mean business;-)

The panic over the packing this year has been HUGE, what to bring, what not to bring, the weather looks as though it's gonna be hot and we know all about the "men in shorts" thing in Azerbaijan but we're not worried, we're from Northern Europe....anything more than 10'C and it's a heatwave as far as we are concerned;-)

Honestly this is one contest that we are very very much looking forward to.....for loads of reasons....

First there are some really great songs this year....in fact there are very few that get skipped at all.....

Second, the Host Country.....Always been on the agenda to visit that part of the world and we're getting to do it with Eurovision week so win-win

Third...We are really really intrigued just how thing's will be when we get there.....I suppose the comparison with Moscow will be made.....it will be fun to find out who comes out on top.....

And finally IT'S EUROVISION.......always a time to get excited over silly fluffy nonsense

So that's it for now.....next time we post we'll be there in Azerbaijan.....staring at this stunning building thinking how the hell did they build that in less than a year??????

And don't forget to check out the interviews and performances from London and Amsterdam last month just to get you in the mood for the next few weeks to come.... http://www.youtube.com/user/EurovisionKZ/videos

And finally, here are the promotional materials for JESC 2011. I think Belarus probably had the best package. Moldova had no promotional CD, unfortunately. And big thanks to Johan Jamtberg for bringing me CD of Frida Sanden, the only one I had been missing since 2007.

The only artist we've missed at after-party was Ukrainian Kristall. The information is that both during 3rd rehearsal and final there was no sound in her headphones. Yesterday it was working perfectly and all settings were set. After 3rd dress Kristall and Lerika had stayed to test their headphones and they were adjusted. Shockingly, the problem was back at the final itself. However, we were told Kristall is not very upset, and delegation is trying to explain her she is the winner anyway.

Other delegations, including Dutch one almost ready to leave to the airport, were present at the party, which was a mess, and had not included any disco. Even kids trying to get playing piano were not allowed to use it. Otherwise, it was the last chance of kids to meet and exchange their contacts and they have used this chance to the full.

With this ESCKAZ ends our Yerevan coverage and says THANK YOU.

From Candy press-conference

and head of delegation Maya Bichikashvili confirmed that Georgia will certainly host JESC in the next few years, as their interest is very high.

From Georgia arrival

Georgia 108
The Netherlands 103
Belarus 99
Russia 99
Armenia 85
Moldova 78
Belgium 64
Bulgaria 60
Sweden 57
Lithuania 53
Ukraine 42
Macedonia 31
Latvia 31

Full scorecard:
http://www.junioreurovision.tv/page/yerevan-2011/our-stars

we've just chatted with the special guest of the show, and video will be up in couple of minutes on our account