Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest - Wikiwand
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 16 times, making its debut in 2004 and having its last appearance in 2019. The Belarusian participant broadcaster in the contest was the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC). Since 1 July 2021, Belarus has been unable to participate in the contest following the suspension of BTRC's membership in the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).[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 cancelled 2020 contest and was disqualified from taking part in the 2021 contest.
The Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) was a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1 January 1993, thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest since then. It participated in the contest representing Belarus since its 49th edition in 2004.
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,[9] however, in late April 2024 (one month before the expiration), the EBU declared that there was "no reason to change [its] position at the current time", thus making the suspension indefinite.[10]
| X | Entry selected but did not compete |
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Heads of delegation
Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others.[14]
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Commentators and spokespersons
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Other shows
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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.[11][12][13]