Tajik-born singer Manizha has been chosen to represent Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest after a national vote.
Tajik-born singer and UNHCR goodwill ambassador Manizha was chosen to represent Russia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
Program host Yana Churikova said during a selection competition broadcast on March 8 that Manizha was chosen through a nationwide popular vote to represent Russia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.
39.7 percent of those polled supported participation of Manizha Sangin in the annual international song contest.
She will represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Russkaya Zhenshchina" (Russian Woman).
The 65th Eurovision contest is to be held in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam on May 18-22 after last year’s edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manizha Sangin was born in Tajikistan in 1991. Her family moved to Russia during Tajikistan’s 1992-97 civil war.
Manizha Sangin (born July 8, 1991), known professionally as simply Manizha, is a Russian-Tajik singer and songwriter. Beginning her career in 2003 as a child singer, Manizha went on to perform with the music groups Ru.Kola, Assai, and Krip De Shin, before later pursuing a solo career. She has become a public figure through her work as a musician, music video director, and as a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in 2020.
The Eurovision Song Contest is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and featuring participants representing primarily European countries. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed on live television and radio, transmitted to national broadcasters via the EBU's Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
Based on the Sanremo Music Festival held in Italy since 1951, Eurovision has been held every year since 1956, with the exception of the cancelled 2020 edition, making it the longest-running annual international televised music competition and one of the world's longest-running television programs.
