Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
| Belarus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member station | BTRC (2004–2021) |
| National selection events | show
National final show
Internal selection |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 16 (6 finals) |
| First appearance | 2004 |
| Last appearance | 2019 |
| Best result | 6th: 2007 |
| External links | |
| BTRC page | |
| Belarus's page at Eurovision.tv | |
 For the most recent participation seeBelarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | |
Belarus has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times since making its debut in 2004. The country's first appearance in a final was in 2007, with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun, placing sixth. This remains Belarus' only top ten placement. Belarus also qualified for the final in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that the Belarusian broadcaster BTRC would be suspended from the union effective June 2021, which will prevent Belarus from participating in further Eurovision events unless BTRC is reintegrated or another broadcaster takes its position.[1]
History[]
Belarus entered the contest in the same year that semi-finals began to be used to determine who would compete in the final. As of the 2019 contest, Belarus has qualified for the final six times: in 2007 with "Work Your Magic", in 2010 with "Butterflies", in 2013 with "Solayoh", in 2014 with "Cheesecake", in 2017 with "Story of My Life", and in 2019 with "Like It".
After the 2009 edition, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said that it was necessary to completely replace the current working team behind Belarus' Eurovision entry. Lukashenko pointed out his frustrations over divisions within the team.[citation needed]
Alexander Rybak, the winner of the 2009 contest representing Norway, expressed an interest in composing an entry for his birth country Belarus.[2] Rybak's song "Accent", performed by Milki, competed in the Belarusian national final for the 2015 contest,[3] placing fourth.
Belarus originally planned to participate in the 2021 contest, and were set to perform in the first half of the first semi-final. On 9 March 2021, Galasy ZMesta was announced as the chosen entrant with the song "Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)".[4] However, the entry was disqualified on 11 March, as it was decided by the EBU that the song was in violation of the contest's rules. Belarusian broadcaster BTRC was ordered to submit either a new version of the song or an entirely new song that is compliant with the rules, or face disqualification.[5] On 26 March, BTRC submitted the song "Pesnya pro zaytsev (Song about hares)" (Russian: Песня про зайцев), also sung by Galasy ZMesta, as Belarus' new entry, however that song was also disqualified, again for the same reasons as their previous attempt, and Belarus was subsequently disqualified from the 2021 contest altogether.[6][7]
On 28 May 2021, six days after the 2021 final, the EBU voted to suspend BTRC's membership. BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension comes into effect on 11 June, but there was no public response.[1] The broadcaster was expelled from the EBU on 1 July, therefore losing the rights to broadcast and participate in the contest.[8] It was subsequently said that the expellation would last for three years, however Belarus would have to re-apply for membership after it expires. [9]
Contestants[]
X
|
Entry selected but did not compete |
| Year | Artist | Title | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleksandra and Konstantin | "My Galileo" | English | Failed to qualify | 19 | 10 | ||
| Angelica Agurbash | "Love Me Tonight" | English | 13 | 67 | |||
| Polina Smolova | "Mum" | English | 22 | 10 | |||
| Dmitry Koldun | "Work Your Magic" | English | 6 | 145 | 4 | 176 | |
| Ruslan Alekhno | "Hasta La Vista" | English | Failed to qualify | 17 | 27 | ||
| Petr Elfimov | "Eyes That Never Lie" | English | 13 | 25 | |||
| 3+2 feat. Robert Wells | "Butterflies" | English | 24 | 18 | 9 | 59 | |
| Anastasia Vinnikova | "I Love Belarus" | English | Failed to qualify | 14 | 45 | ||
| Litesound | "We Are the Heroes" | English | 16 | 35 | |||
| Alyona Lanskaya | "Solayoh" | English | 16 | 48 | 7 | 64 | |
| Teo | "Cheesecake" | English | 16 | 43 | 5 | 87 | |
| Uzari & Maimuna | "Time" | English | Failed to qualify | 12 | 39 | ||
| Ivan | "Help You Fly" | English | 12 | 84 | |||
| Naviband | "Story of My Life" | Belarusian | 17 | 83 | 9 | 110 | |
| Alekseev | "Forever" | English | Failed to qualify | 16 | 65 | ||
| ZENA | "Like It" | English | 24 | 31 | 10 | 122 | |
| VAL | "Da vidna" (Да відна) | Belarusian | Contest cancelled[a] X | ||||
| Galasy ZMesta | "Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)" (Я научу тебя) | Russian | Disqualified[b] X | ||||
Related involvement[]
Heads of delegation[]
| Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–2011 | Alexander Martynenko | |
| 2012–2016 | Marat Markov | |
| 2017–2019 | Olga Salamakha |
Commentators and spokespersons[]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2019) |
| Year | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Ales Kruglyakov, Tatyana Yakusheva | Did not participate | |
| 2004 | Ales Kruglyakov | Denis Kurian | |
| 2005 | Elena Ponomareva | ||
| 2006 | Denis Dudinskiy | Corrianna | |
| 2007 | Denis Kurian, Alexander Tikhanovich | Juliana | |
| 2008 | Denis Kurian | Olga Barabanschikova | |
| 2009 | Ekaterina Litvinova | ||
| 2010 | Aleksei Grishin | ||
| 2011 | Leila Ismailava | ||
| 2012 | Dmitry Koldun | ||
| 2013 | Evgeny Perlin | Darya Domracheva | |
| 2014 | Alyona Lanskaya | ||
| 2015 | Teo | ||
| 2016 | Uzari | ||
| 2017 | Alyona Lanskaya | ||
| 2018 | Naviband | ||
| 2019 | Maria Vasilevich | ||
| Not announced before cancellation | |||
| 2021 | No broadcast | Did not participate |
Other shows[]
| Show | Commentator | Channel | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light | Evgeny Perlin | Belarus 1, Belarus 24 |
Photo gallery[]
Dmitry Koldun in Helsinki (2007)
Ruslan Alekhno in Belgrade (2008)
Alyona Lanskaya in Malmö (2013)
Teo in Copenhagen (2014)
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ The song was disqualified for being political in nature.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "EBU EXECUTIVE BOARD AGREES TO SUSPENSION OF BELARUS MEMBER BTRC". European Broadcasting Union. 28 May 2021. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "Alexander Rybak is considering a Eurovision comeback". ESCToday. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
- ^ "Belarus: Rybak's song is revealed". ESCToday. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
- ^ "