Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest

Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times, making its debut in 2004 and having its last appearance in 2019. The country has been unable to participate in future contests following the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) suspension of broadcaster BTRC from the EBU, which became effective in June 2021.[1] The country's first appearance in a final was in 2007, with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun, where it placed sixth; this remains Belarus' only top ten placement. Belarus also qualified for the final in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019. More recently, the nation had planned to take part in the canceled 2020 contest and was disqualified from taking part in the 2021 contest.

Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
Belarus
Former participating broadcasterBelarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC; 2004–2021)
Participation summary
Appearances16 (6 finals)
First appearance2004
Last appearance2019
Highest placement6th: 2007
External links
Belarus's page at Eurovision.tv Edit this at Wikidata
For the most recent participation see
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

History

Belarus entered the contest in the same year that semi-finals began to be used to determine who would compete in the final. 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".

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 came 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 stated that the expulsion would last for three years, however Belarus would have to re-apply for membership after it expires.[9]

Participation overview
Table key
X Entry selected but did not compete
Year Artist Song Language Final Points Semi Points
2004 Aleksandra and Konstantin "My Galileo" English Failed to qualify 19 10
2005 Angelica Agurbash "Love Me Tonight" English 13 67
2006 Polina Smolova "Mum" English 22 10
2007 Koldun "Work Your Magic" English 6 145 4 176
2008 Ruslan Alehno "Hasta la vista" English[lower-alpha 1] Failed to qualify 17 27
2009 Petr Elfimov "Eyes That Never Lie" English 13 25
2010 3+2 feat. Robert Wells "Butterflies" English 24 18 9 59
2011 Anastasia Vinnikova "I Love Belarus" English Failed to qualify 14 45
2012 Litesound "We Are the Heroes" English 16 35
2013 Alyona Lanskaya "Solayoh" English 16 48 7 64
2014 Teo "Cheesecake" English 16 43 5 87
2015 Uzari and Maimuna "Time" English Failed to qualify 12 39
2016 Ivan "Help You Fly" English 12 84
2017 Naviband "Story of My Life" Belarusian[lower-alpha 2] 17 83 9 110
2018 Alekseev "Forever" English Failed to qualify 16 65
2019 Zena "Like It" English 24 31 10 122
2020 VAL "Da vidna" (Да відна) Belarusian Contest cancelled[lower-alpha 3] X
2021 Galasy ZMesta Entries disqualified[lower-alpha 4] Disqualified X

Heads of delegation
Year Head of delegation Ref.
2009–2011 Alexander Martynenko
[13][14]
2012–2016 Marat Markov
[15][14]
2017–2019 Olga Salamakha
[16][14]

Commentators and spokespersons
Year Commentator Spokesperson Ref.
2002 Denis Kurian Did not participate
[17]
2003 Ales Kruglyakov, Tatyana Yakusheva
[18][19][20]
2004 Ales Kruglyakov Denis Kurian
2005 Elena Ponomareva
2006 Denis Dudinskiy Corrianna
[21][22]
2007 Denis Kurian, Alexander Tikhanovich Juliana
[23]
2008 Denis Kurian Olga Barabanschikova
[23]
2009 Ekaterina Litvinova
[23]
2010 Aleksei Grishin
[23]
2011 Leila Ismailava
2012 Dmitry Koldun
[24]
2013 Evgeny Perlin Darya Domracheva
[25][26]
2014 Alyona Lanskaya
[27][28]
2015 Teo
[29][30]
2016 Uzari
[31]
2017 Alyona Lanskaya
[32][28]
2018 Naviband
[33]
2019 Maria Vasilevich
[34][35]
2020 Evgeny Perlin Not announced before cancellation
[36]
2021–2024 No broadcast Did not participate
[37]

Other shows
Show Commentator Channel Ref.
Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light Evgeny Perlin Belarus 1, Belarus 24
[38]

See also

Notes
  1. Although the song is in English, the Spanish title is repeated throughout the song.
  2. Although the title is in English, the song is performed entirely in Belarusian.
  3. The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  4. Originally "Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)" (Я научу тебя) was chosen as the Belarusian entry for 2021, however this was disqualified by the EBU due to the political nature of the lyrics relating to the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests. Subsequently a new entry, "Pesnya pro zaytsev (Song About Hares)" (Песня про зайцев), was chosen, however this was also barred from competing, which led to the exclusion of Belarus from the 2021 contest.[10][11][12]

References
  1. "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.
  2. "Alexander Rybak is considering a Eurovision comeback". ESCToday. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
  3. "Belarus: Rybak's song is revealed". ESCToday. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  4. "🇧🇾 Belarus: Galasy ZMesta to Eurovision 2021". Eurovoix. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. "Latest news: EBU statement on Belarusian entry". Eurovision.tv. 2021-03-11. Archived from the original on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  6. "EBU statement on Belarusian participation". Eurovision.tv. 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
  7. Галасы Зместа - Песня про зайцев - песня на Евровидение 2021, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2021-03-26
  8. "Белтэлерадыёкампанію выключылі з Еўрапейскага вяшчальнага саюза". euroradio.fm. 2021-06-30. Archived from the original on 2021-07-01.
  9. "BTRC: Suspenzija traje tri godine". eurosong.hr (in Croatian). 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  10. "Latest news: EBU statement on Belarusian entry". Eurovision.tv. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  11. "Belarus Eurovision song rejected due to political lyrics". Deutsche Welle. Reuters / Associated Press. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  12. Bronson, Fred (12 May 2022). "Eurovision Has Long Struggled, With Varying Success, to Hold a Politics-Free Song Contest". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  13. "Minsk to host Junior Eurovision 2018! What can you expect?". junioreurovision.tv. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  14. "THE VOTING RESULTS OF THE 2ND SEASON OF DEPI EVRATESIL". eurovision.am. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  15. "Minsk to host Junior Eurovision 2018! What can you expect?". junioreurovision.tv. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  16. "Minsk to host Junior Eurovision 2018! What can you expect?". junioreurovision.tv. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  17. "Семь Дней Истории Белорусского Рок-Н-Ролла".
  18. Ведущий БТ Алесь КРУГЛЯКОВ: "Я буду смеяться, если кто-то заявит, что он в одиночку изменит наше телевидение" (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  19. Zahorodnyi, Oleksandr (20 May 2005). "10 обранців приєднаються до 14 уже відібраних учасників конкурсу Євробачення, фінальне змагання відбудеться завтра" (in Ukrainian). 1+1. Archived from the original on May 27, 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  20. БТ покажет нам "Евровидение-2003" (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  21. Mytko, Oksana (18 May 2006). "Евровидение-2006: Сегодня ночь в Афинах будет звездной". 7 дней. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  22. BTRC. "Евровидение 2006. Финал (БТ, 20.05.2006)". VK. sonic-vhs Оцифровки из Беларуси. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  23. "Meet them: the hosts of Junior 2010!". junioreurovision.tv. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  24. Roxburgh, Gordon (26 May 2012). "Running order for the voting tonight". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  25. "Белорусская делегация отправится на конкурс песни "Евровидение-2013" 4 мая". tvr.by (in Russian). 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  26. Roxburgh, Gordon (18 May 2013). ""Good evening Malmö" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  27. "More than 1.5 thousand journalists will cover Eurovision-2014". belta.by (in Russian). 25 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  28. Granger, Anthony (27 April 2017). "Belarus: Alyona Lanskaya Returns As Spokesperson". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  29. "Белорусская делегация отправится на конкурс песни "Евровидение" 10 мая". belta.by. 6 May 2015. Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  30. Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  31. Roxburgh, Gordon (14 May 2016). "The 42 spokespersons for the 2016 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 15 May 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  32. "Evgeny Perlin will comment the second Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Belarusian". tvr.by. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  33. "May we have your votes please?". eurovision.tv. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  34. ""Belarus 1" and "Belarus 24" to show the first semi-final of "Eurovision-2019"". tvr.by. 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  35. Granger, Anthony (11 May 2019). "Belarus: Maria Vasilevich To Reveal The Belarusian Jury's Points". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  36. Pilevich, Inna (28 February 2020). "Final of national eliminations for Eurovision 2020 held today". tvr.by. Belteleradio. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  37. Granger, Anthony (2021-05-17). "Belarus: BTRC Not Broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest 2021". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  38. "Евровидение: Europe Shine a Light". BTRC (in Belarusian). 13 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
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