Tajik-born singer and UNHCR goodwill ambassador Manizha has been 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 the 29-year-old Manizha was chosen through a nationwide popular vote to represent Russia in the annual song contest watched by millions throughout the world.
Churikova said the singer, whose full name is Manizha Sangin, will perform the song Russian Woman in the finals competition.
The singer-songwriter 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.
She was born in Tajikistan in 1991. Her family moved to Russia during the Central Asian country’s 1992-97 civil war.
The 65th Eurovision contest is to be held in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam on May 18-22 after last year’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The site of the 2022 contest will be based on the winner of this year’s competition.