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"It is not only our victory, but also a victory of the whole Azerbaijani people," one of the winning duo, Eldar Gasimov, told journalists.
The result is being celebrated as a national triumph in the relatively young state until now mainly known as an energy exporter on Europe's fringe, bordering Iran and Russia.
In a statement on his website, the country's strongman President Ilham Aliyev said that winning the annual pop extravaganza was "a great success of the Azerbaijani state and people".
Tradition dictates that Ell and Nikki's triumph will bring the Eurovision contest to Baku next year -- one of the biggest events in the mainly Muslim country's history since independence in 1991.
The English-language love song "Running Scared" by Gasimov and partner Nigar Jamal was voted the best of 25 competitors at the final in Duesseldorf, Germany.
Thousands celebrated through the night in Baku after the result was announced in the early hours of Sunday local time, ignoring heavy rain as they danced and chanted "Azerbaijan! Azerbaijan!"
The Turkic-speaking country of 9.1 million people is an important supplier of oil and gas to Europe, but its pop music has not until now been so widely appreciated.
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The result is being celebrated as a national triumph in the relatively young state until now mainly known as an energy exporter on Europe's fringe, bordering Iran and Russia.
In a statement on his website, the country's strongman President Ilham Aliyev said that winning the annual pop extravaganza was "a great success of the Azerbaijani state and people".
Tradition dictates that Ell and Nikki's triumph will bring the Eurovision contest to Baku next year -- one of the biggest events in the mainly Muslim country's history since independence in 1991.
The English-language love song "Running Scared" by Gasimov and partner Nigar Jamal was voted the best of 25 competitors at the final in Duesseldorf, Germany.
Thousands celebrated through the night in Baku after the result was announced in the early hours of Sunday local time, ignoring heavy rain as they danced and chanted "Azerbaijan! Azerbaijan!"
The Turkic-speaking country of 9.1 million people is an important supplier of oil and gas to Europe, but its pop music has not until now been so widely appreciated.
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