Despite the fact that the official Bulgarian song did not make it to the Eurovision finals, the contest was marked by some better Bulgarian participation.

The Bulgarian contender for the Eurovision 2009 Song Contest, Krassimir Avramov, and his song "Illusion" failed to qualify for the Eurovision final.

But there is a Bulgarian connection among the top ten countries semi-final qualifiers - Turkey, Sweden, Israel, Portugal, Malta, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Armenia, and Iceland.

The Israel duo Ahinoam Nini and Mira Awad has a deep Bulgarian tie because Awad, a Christian Arab from the village of Rameh in the Galilee has a Bulgarian mother (Snezhanka) and a Palestinian father.

Nini and Awad song There Must Be Another Way, sung in English, Hebrew and Arabic, will be performed again at the May 16th show in Moscow, at the Olimpiyskiy Arena, during the Eurovision 2009 contest finals.

The selection of Yemenite Jew (Nini) and a Christian Arab (Awad) by the Israel Broadcasting Authority Committee to represent the country at the annual Eurovision Song Contest was made when Israel's military was deep into its devastating three-week war in Gaza and created a storm of controversy.

Nini and Awad found themselves facing strong criticism from both Palestinian and Arab intellectuals, who initiated a petition calling on Awad not to take part in the contest.

Bu the pair's vow to participate despite the protests, and to concentrate on their song, so far proved successful, with the two of them demonstrating Tuesday night that they can carry on the good Israeli Eurovision record.

Israel has won the Eurovision song contest three times - in 1978, 1979 and 1998.

After the announcement of the semi-finals' results, the other Bulgarian connection, Russian mega star singer, Philip Kirkorov, stepped on the stage to greet the audience.

Kirkorov, who is the Chair of the professional jury, selecting the best Eurovision 2009 songs, was born in Bulgaria.

"I am the proud voice of Europe and I come from Russia. Tonight we will make history, the History of Europe, written by Russia," the emotional Kirkorov told the huge crowd of spectators.

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