Russia's Alexei Vorobyov has qualified for the final stage of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Wednesday.
Russia has chosen 23-year-old singer Alexei Vorobyev (aka Alex Sparrow) to represent it at the contest in Dusseldorf on May 10. The pop star will sing a song called Get You, written by well-known music producer RedOne, also Lady Gaga's songwriter.
Of the 19 contestants, who took part in the first semifinal, 10 finalists, representing Russia, Serbia, Lithuania, Greece, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Switzerland, Hungary, Finland and Iceland, were chosen by a jury and text message vote.
Bookmakers placed Russia in 10th place in forecasted standings, and France is tipped to win the annual pop music competition, which traditionally includes an entry publically chosen by each European state.
The second semifinal, to determine another group of 10 participants, will be held on Thursday. Representatives of the "big five" countries - France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain - already have places in Saturday's final.
DUSSELDORF, May 11 (RIA Novosti)
