Winner's Press Conference: "We want to bring Europe together"

Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal (Ell/Nikki) from Azerbaijan were obviously ecstatic when they entered the press conference room at the Düsseldorf Arena, cheering and waving flags and of course showing off their trophy. Fans from Azerbaijan cheered them on enthusiastically as they walked in.

The waiting photographers clambered to get a look at the pair and take a few photographs. 

Both Eldar and Nigar thanked the audience saying "the one thing we want to say is, we just love you. Thank you for your support". 

The pair then went on to sing a song in Azeri, which was warmly received by the press and fans watching them in the room.  

Thankful for every vote

Tears were in the eyes of both the guys, who thanked their family and grandparents who are no longer with us. 

"Everyone who gave a vote, everyone who loved our song, everyone who believed in us, thank you very much", said Nigar.

"From the first day I believed we would get it, that we would win", said Eldar.  

Congratulations from the Azeri and international press. 

They were asked what their message for Azerbaijan is by a member of the press. Eldar replied, "we want to thank all Azerbaijan for their support and Azeri television". Nigar said, "thank god, thanks for believing in us". 

An Azeri journalist asked what would happen when they arrive home. Nigar said, "I think they will go mad". 

One fan asked if the pair have plans to release any more records to which Eldar replied, "we will start working on that straight away. We will try to do that". 

Asked about how the pair will celebrate their victory, they said "we are just going to party, aren't we?" to which they received a raptuous response from the entire delegation.

Running Scared will also be translated in a few languages, both Eldar and Nigar said including French and German. 

Nigar lives in London and was asked by a British journalist if she will move back to Azerbaijan. She said "at first I will go back to Azerbaijan but I live in London so we'll see". 

"We want to bring Europe together"

"We want to bring Europe together with our song", said Eldar when asked about how the song can maybe contribute to solving many problems in Europe. 

Nigar said, "A few months ago I was a housewife but now I am the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is my biggest dream". 

"We never thought about the rankings. We just worked so hard for months and we were so happy with what we were doing", Eldar explained. 

After waiting for a long time, an Indian journalist asked about hosting Europe's favourite TV show in Asia, where Azerbaijan is. They both answered "Music has no borders, we just want people to enjoy it". 

Eldar and Nigar's team from make up artists to vocal coaches and delegation members were all thanked for their contribution. 

Eldar also wanted to thank Düsseldorf and Germany for producing a great show, "our 14 days here were absolutely amazing. I love all of Germany and the German people". 

Congratulations from Jon Ola Sand

EBU executive supervisor, Jon Ola Sand joined the press conference to offer his congratulations to Azerbaijan and to offer an invitation to start discussing next year's preparations. 

"Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest is a big challenge and I have here an invitation to the team to come to Geneva to start planning for next year's contest in Azerbaijan. If possible we hope to have an even better contest next year", he said to the Azeri delegation. 

The Azeri Head of Delegation thanked the EBU and NDR for organising, "one of the best contests we've ever seen and hopefully we can organise a better one. Welcome to Azerbaijan!"

The Press Conference ended with a photo opportunity for the waiting press. 

Azerbaijan won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with 221 points, followed by Italy and Sweden who came second and third respectively.

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See the video from the press conference here: