The First Competition that took place from the 19th of November till the 1st of December 1997 in Baku was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the prominent Azeri singer, teacher, musicologist and public figure, national artist of USSR, Professor Byulbyul.

68 vocalists participated in the competition having come from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federeation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and South Korea. The Chairman of the Organisation Committee: the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, national artist, Professor Polad Byulbyuloglu.

The finalist of the V Byulbyul Competition, tenor Olexiy Palchykov is now a member of the young artists' program Atelier Lyriques at Opéra national in Paris, for the season 2012-2013.