Angry homophobes took to the streets of two Iranian cities on Friday (11 May) to protest rumors of a gay pride event during next week's Eurovision Song Contest in neighboring Azerbaijan.

The kitsch European pop tournament will begin in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, on 22 May, with the grand final held on 26 May.

In January, gay scene website nighttours.com suggested that a gay pride could take place in the city during the lead-up to Eurovision, but removed the article a few days later.