8 July – There’s a thousand ways to say goodbye

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It’s début time again, and one that saw an expansion into the Caucasus – that area some claim is Europe and some claim is Asia. We’re not going to discuss that geographical question here.

Today’s birthday boy Անդրեյ Սերգեյի Հովնանյան/André Sergey Hovnanyan, usually known by his first name, achieved a curious thing. He opened the sole semi-final in Athens, and closed the final. He qualified sixth in the semi-final, thus burnishing Armenia’s fairly good reputation in the contest. Belgium and R*ss*a even gave him their twelves in both shows too. He may not have won, but we knew Armenia were here to stay. That win can’t be far away either.

André is 45 today.

Ծնունդդ շնորհավոր, Անդրե!