Post-Štikla: Chalga Follows Ganga

Even leaving Evropesma to one side, Severina's role as the most controversal entrant in this year's Eurovision contest may be short-lived: Bulgarian National Televsion (BNT) has announced that the chalga singer Azis will take part in Eurovision alongside the winner of Saturday's pre-selection event, Mariana Popova.

The Gazette is trying, and failing, to find a non-sensationalist way of describing Azis as a transvestite Roma singer of the Bulgarian equivalent of turbofolk, who's flirted with politics and probably many other things too, and who released an explicit autobiography (soon to be in need of a new edition?) some days ago.

According to the Doteurovision website: 'He did not take part in the national final, since it was thought his popularity could sway the vote.' This is something of an understatement: suffice it to say that Azis could make Severina look uncontroversial, and possibly will.

He's certainly the only participant this year with an asteroid named after him...