The Formula 1 world has gone wild after hearing the host country’s “hauntingly beautiful” national anthem ahead of Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix,
Local singer Aisel led a gorgeous rendition of the former Soviet state’s national anthem before the start of the race. Her performance came complete with dynamic costume changes for back-up vocalists in the bright blue, red and green of the Azerbaijan flag.
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Social media was ablaze on hearing the anthem, entitled “Azərbaycan marşı”, and translates to “the March of Azerbaijan”.
One Twitter user said “one thing was fully confirmed this weekend … the national anthem of Azerbaijan is an absolute banger.”
Another said it was “the best anthem of all the countries hosting F1 races.”
“The Azerbaijan anthem didn’t need to go this hard,” said another.
Sports Illustrated F1 editor Alex Harrington called Aisel’s performance “insane”.
One Twitter user raised the issue of the Grand Prix’s role in sportswashing, but nonetheless reflected on the grandeur of the song.
“I know that F1 racing in Baku is problematic and as a country Azerbaijan infringes on human rights like it’s their job, but their national anthem is hauntingly beautiful,” the user said.
Aisel has previously represented Azerbaijan on the world stage, competing in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest with her song “X My Heart”, the only Azerbaijani entry to not make the finals of the competition.
The song was first adopted as the national anthem in 1918 with the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic before eventually being replaced with Soviet communist anthem “The Internationale” when the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922.
The song was re-adopted as the national anthem after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1992, with poet Ahmad Javad’s bombastic lyrics alongside it.
The song’s lyrics include grand lines such as “we are all ready to bestow our lives on thee”.
Despite the pomp on display from the city, Baku’s hosting of a Formula 1 race since 2016 has been the subject of significant criticism that it is an example of “sportswashing” – using sport to distract from the nation’s human rights record with prestigious sponsorship and hosting of events.
Azerbaijan’s human rights record and relationship with international law has been under fire since before a Formula 1 wheel had ever turned in anger on the streets of Baku, with a 2013 Human Rights Watch report accusing the nation of imprisoning and harassing political activists and human rights defenders.
As of 2022, Azerbaijan ranks 154th out of 180 countries on the Press Freedom Index, ranking similarly to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia.
A 2020 US State Department report accused the nation of “unlawful or arbitrary killing”, “heavy restrictions on free expression, the press and the internet”, and “the worst forms of child labor”.
Armenian National Committee of America director Alex Galitsky noted on Twitter the dichotomy between Formula 1 pulling out of Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and the organisation’s continuation of Grands Prix in Azerbaijan.
“F1 terminated its contract with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine,” Galitsky wrote.
“But it proceeds with its Azerbaijan GP despite Baku’s genocidal blockade of Artsakh, and its invasion and occupation of sovereign Armenian land.
“F1 is sportswashing Azerbaijan’s war crimes.”
Sportswriter Owen Lloyd wrote in an article for Inside the Games that “Baku is a fantastic metropolis and deserves to be able to host events such as the Grand Prix.
“The quicker the rest of the country can catch up to what is a thriving place, the better so the world can enjoy everything it has to offer guilt-free.”
Last year, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem inferred drivers should stay away from human rights and political issues, and focus on driving.
“Niki Lauda and Alain Prost only cared about driving,” Ben Sulayem said in an interview in June.
“Now, Vettel drives a rainbow bicycle, Lewis is passionate about human rights and Norris addresses mental health.
“Everybody has the right to think. To me, it is about deciding whether we should impose our beliefs in something over the sport all the time.”
Earlier in 2023, Ben Sulayem warned drivers against using the platform created by the sport to make statements for their “personal agenda”.
“We are concerned with building bridges,” he said.
“You can use sport for peace reasons … but one thing we don’t want is to have the FIA as a platform for a private personal agenda.
“We will divert from the sport. What does the driver do best? Driving.
“They are so good at it, and they make the business, they make the show, they are the stars. Nobody is stopping them.
“There are other platforms to express what they want. Everybody has this and they are most welcome to go through the process of the FIA, to go through that.”