Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | ||||
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Participating broadcaster | Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) | |||
Country | Belarus | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | National final | |||
Selection date(s) | 20 January 2017 | |||
Selected artist(s) | Naviband | |||
Selected song | "Story of My Life" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) | Arciom Lukjanienka | |||
Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result | Qualified (9th, 110 points) | |||
Final result | 17th, 83 points | |||
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Belarus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Story of My Life", written by Arciom Lukjanienka, and performed by the band Naviband. The Belarusian participating broadcaster, the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC), selected its entry through a national final. This was the first-ever entry performed in Belarusian in the Eurovision Song Contest.
The national final consisted of fourteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Historyja majho žyccia" (Гісторыя майго жыцця) performed by Navi was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting. The song was later retitled as "Story of My Life" for Eurovision, while the band was renamed as Naviband.
Belarus was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 11 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 14, "Story of My Life" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 13 May. It was later revealed that Belarus placed ninth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 110 points. In the final, Belarus performed in position 3 and placed seventeenth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 83 points.
Prior to the 2017 contest, the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Belarus thirteen times since its first entry in 2004. [1] Its best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2007 with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Koldun. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, it had managed to qualify to the final four times. In 2016, it failed to qualify to the final with the song "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan.
As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, BTRC organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. The broadcaster has used both internal selections and national finals to select its entry for Eurovision in the past. Since 2012, BTRC has organised a national final in order to choose its entry, a selection procedure that continued for its 2017 entry. [2]
The Belarusian national final took place on 20 January 2017. [3] Thirteen songs participated in the competition and the winner was selected through a jury and public televote. The show was broadcast on Belarus 1, Belarus 24 and Radius FM as well as online via the broadcaster's official website tvr.by.
Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 4 November 2016 and 24 November 2016. At the closing of the deadline, 67 entries were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held on 30 November 2016 at the BTRC "600 Metrov" studio where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. The auditions were webcast online at the official BTRC website. The jury consisted of Olga Salamakha (deputy director of the TV channel Belarus 1), Inna Mardusevich (chief specialist of the concert and festival art management projects of the Ministry of Culture of Belarus), Elena Treschinskaya (head of the radio station "Radius FM"), Dmitry Dolgolev, Oleg Averin (musician/composer), Ludmila Kutz (singer and vocal teacher), Sergei Andrianov (journalist), Mikhail Revutsky (head of the section of culture at TV Infoservice) and Evgeny Perlin (television host). Thirteen finalists were selected and announced on 30 November 2016. [4]
Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
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Aleksandra Tkach | "Be Stronger" | Aleksandra Tkach |
Anastasiya Sheverenko | "We'll Be Together" | Maxim Aleynikov, Irina Filatova |
Angelica Pushnova | "We Should Be Together" | Kirill Ermakov, Natalya Tambovtseva |
Isaac Nightingale | "On the Red Line" | Vadim Kapustin |
July | "Children of the World" | Dmitry Fomich |
Kattie | "Wild Wind" | Anders Hansson, Sharon Vaughn |
Lermont x Julic | "Heartbeat" | Vasiliy Selischev, Anton Rubatskiy |
Napoli | "Let's Come Together" | Michael James Down, Primož Poglajen, Niklas Hast |
Navi | "Historyja majho žyccia" (Гісторыя майго жыцця) | Arciom Lukjanienka |
Nikita Hodas | "Voices in My Head" | Nikita Hodas |
Nuteki | "Take My Heart" | Mikhail Nokarashvili, Dawn Michel |
Provokatsiya | "#mylove" | Anatoliy Chepikov, Svyatoslav Pozdnyak, Ilya Yermak |
Vladislav Kurasov | "Follow the Play" | Vladislav Kurasov, Natalya Rostova |
The televised final took place on 20 January 2017 at the "600 Metrov" studio in Minsk, hosted by Olga Ryzhikova and 2014 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Teo. [3] Prior to the competition, a draw for the running order took place on 9 December 2016. [5] A 50/50 combination of votes from seven jury members made up of music professionals and public televoting selected the song "Historyja majho žyccia" performed by Navi as the winner. The song became Belarus' first entry to be performed in the Belarusian language at the Eurovision Song Contest. [6] The jury consisted of Valery Dayneko (chairman of the jury, singer), Olga Salamakha (deputy director of the TV channel Belarus 1), Elena Treshchinskaya (head of the radio station "Radius FM"), Alexander Kapenkin (director of the TV channel TV BelMuz), Vladimir Bogdan (producer, presenter, director of the radio station "Radio New"), Ludmila Kutz (singer and vocal teacher) and Inna Mardusevich (chief specialist of the concert and festival art management projects of the Ministry of Culture of Belarus). [7]
In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by the hosts Olga Ryzhikova and Teo, 2015 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Uzari and 2016 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Ivan.
Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place | |
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Votes | Points | ||||||
1 | July | "Children of the World" | 1 | 7,078 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
2 | Aleksandra Tkach | "Be Stronger" | 5 | 894 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
3 | Vladislav Kurasov | "Follow the Play" | 4 | 463 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
4 | Navi | "Historyja majho žyccia" | 12 | 3,626 | 6 | 18 | 1 |
5 | Isaac Nightingale | "On the Red Line" | 8 | 445 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
6 | Kattie | "Wild Wind" | 0 | 658 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
7 | Nuteki | "Take My Heart" | 10 | 3,069 | 5 | 15 | 2 |
8 | Napoli | "Let's Come Together" | 2 | 7,271 | 10 | 12 | 5 |
9 | Nikita Hodas | "Voices in My Head" | 7 | 1,117 | 3 | 10 | 6 |
10 | Angelica Pushnova | "We Should Be Together" | 3 | 1,278 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
11 | Anastasiya Sheverenko | "We'll Be Together" | 6 | 5,361 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
12 | Lermont x Julic | "Heartbeat" | 0 | 202 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
13 | Provokatsiya | "#mylove" | 0 | 9,238 | 12 | 12 | 4 |
Naviband made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Story of My Life" as the Belarusian Eurovision entry. On 25 March, Naviband performed during the Eurovision PreParty Riga, which was organised by OGAE Latvia and held at the Crystal Club Concert Hall in Riga. [8] Between 3 and 6 April, Naviband took part in promotional activities in Tel Aviv, Israel where she performed during the Israel Calling event held at the Ha'teatron venue. [9] [10] On 8 April, Naviband performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Cornald Maas and Selma Björnsdóttir. [11]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. [12] On 31 January 2017, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Belarus placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 11 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. [13]
Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Belarus was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Switzerland and before the entry from Bulgaria. [14] But after Russia was removed from the running order of the competition following their withdrawal from the contest, Belarus' position shifted to 14. [15]
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Belarus on Belarus 1 and Belarus 24 with commentary by Evgeny Perlin. [16] BTRC appointed Alyona Lanskaya, who represented Belarus in the 2013 contest, as its spokesperson to announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Belarusian jury during the final.
Naviband took part in technical rehearsals on 3 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 10 and 11 May. This included the jury show on 10 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. [17]
The Belarusian performance featured the members of Naviband performing on a boat prop on stage with two large spinning fans. The band were in white outfits: Arciom Lukjanienka wore a tan waistcoat, while Kseniya Zhuk wore a long flowing white dress. The LED screens displayed a fast moving cloudy sky, a large blue globe and traditional symbols, while the performance also featured smoke and pyrotechnic effects. [18] [19] Naviband was joined by four off-stage backing vocalists: Alena Verbitskaya, Anna Chet, Michael Soul and Olga Rozaleon-Sashalskaya. [20]
At the end of the show, Belarus was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed ninth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 110 points: 55 points from both the televoting and the juries.
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the reverse order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Belarus was drawn to compete in the first half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Belarus was subsequently placed to perform in position 3, following the entry from Poland and before the entry from Austria. [21]
Naviband once again took part in dress rehearsals on 12 and 13 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. The band performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 14 May. Belarus placed sixteenth in the final, scoring 83 points: 33 points from the televoting and 50 points from the juries.
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each participating broadcaster assembled a five-member jury panel consisting of music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belarus and awarded by Belarus in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
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The following members comprised the Belarusian jury: [24]
Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
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I. Mardusevich | L. Kuts | V. Aleshko | A. Gross | L. Shirin | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
01 | Serbia | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 17 | |
02 | Austria | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | |
03 | Macedonia | 14 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 12 | ||
04 | Malta | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 16 | |
05 | Romania | 17 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 6 | 5 | |
06 | Netherlands | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 13 | |
07 | Hungary | 13 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 10 | |
08 | Denmark | 10 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 14 | |
09 | Ireland | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 3 | |
10 | San Marino | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | ||
11 | Croatia | 8 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
12 | Norway | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 6 |
13 | Switzerland | 15 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 2 | |
14 | Belarus | |||||||||
15 | Bulgaria | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
16 | Lithuania | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
17 | Estonia | 9 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
18 | Israel | 12 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 7 |
Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
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I. Mardusevich | L. Kuts | V. Aleshko | A. Gross | L. Shirin | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
01 | Israel | 11 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 16 | |
02 | Poland | 9 | 11 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 17 | |
03 | Belarus | |||||||||
04 | Austria | 10 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 20 | |
05 | Armenia | 17 | 14 | 6 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 15 | ||
06 | Netherlands | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 22 | |
07 | Moldova | 14 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 10 | |
08 | Hungary | 15 | 23 | 13 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 3 | 8 | |
09 | Italy | 13 | 16 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 12 | ||
10 | Denmark | 7 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 21 | |
11 | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 7 |
12 | Azerbaijan | 18 | 8 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | ||
13 | Croatia | 22 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 14 | ||
14 | Australia | 3 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 19 | |
15 | Greece | 23 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 23 | ||
16 | Spain | 24 | 19 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | ||
17 | Norway | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
18 | United Kingdom | 25 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 18 | ||
19 | Cyprus | 20 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 13 | ||
20 | Romania | 12 | 24 | 22 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 9 | 2 | |
21 | Germany | 21 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 25 | ||
22 | Ukraine | 19 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 18 | 10 | 1 | |
23 | Belgium | 16 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 6 | |
24 | Sweden | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
25 | Bulgaria | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 12 |
26 | France | 8 | 17 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 17 | 7 | 4 |
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Mum" written by Andrey Kostyugov and Sergey Sukhomlin. The song was performed by Polina Smolova. The Belarusian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of a semi-final which was a televised production and an untelevised final held on 10 February 2006 and 27 February 2006, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top three entries as determined by a public televote qualified to the final. In the final, an eight-member jury panel selected "Mama" performed by Polina Smolova as the winner. The song was later retitled for the Eurovision Song Contest as "Mum".
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Love Me Tonight" written by Nikos Terzis and Nektarios Tyrakis. The song was performed by Angelica Agurbash. The Belarusian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of a semi-final which was a televised production and an untelevised final held on 25 December 2004 and 31 January 2005, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top three entries as determined by a public televote qualified to the final. In the final, "Boys and Girls" performed by Angelica Agurbash was initially selected as the winner by a jury panel, however the singer opted to withdraw her song and the replacement entry, "Love Me Tonight", was announced on 18 March 2005.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Work Your Magic" written by Karen Kavaleryan and Philip Kirkorov. The song was performed by Dmitry Koldun. The Belarusian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland was selected through the national final Eurofest 2007, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 15 December 2006 and 22 January 2007, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where three entries qualified to the final: one entry selected by a public televote and two entries selected by a seven-member jury panel. In the final, the jury panel selected "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun as the winner.
Belarus was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "My Galileo", composed by Alexandra Kirsanova and Konstantin Drapezo, with lyrics by Aleksey Solomaha, and performed by Aleksandra and Konstantin themselves. The Belarusian participating broadcaster, the Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC), selected its entry through a national final. This was the first-ever entry from Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Hasta la vista" written by Eleonora Melnik and Taras Demchuk. The song was performed by Ruslan Alekhno. The Belarusian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected through the national final Eurofest 2008, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where four entries qualified to the final: one entry selected by a public televote and three entries selected by a nine-member jury panel. In the final, the jury panel selected "Hasta la vista" performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Eyes That Never Lie" written by Petr Elfimov and Valery Prokhozhy. The song was performed by Petr Elfimov. The Belarusian entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia was selected through the national final Eurofest 2009, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 15 December 2008 and 19 January 2009, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top five entries as determined by a jury panel qualified to the final. In the final, public televoting selected "Eyes That Never Lie" performed by Petr Elfimov as the winner with 11,475 votes.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Butterflies" written by Maxim Fadeev, Robert Wells and Malka Chaplin. The song was performed by the group 3+2 featuring Robert Wells, who were internally selected by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC) to represent the nation at the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway after broadcaster All-National TV (ONT), which was to take over BTRC, failed to receive EBU membership. 3+2 and the song "Far Away" were initially announced as the Belarusian entry on 25 February 2010, however the band opted to withdraw their song and the replacement entry, "Butterflies", was announced on 19 March 2010.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "I Love Belarus" written by Evgeny Oleynik and Svetlana Geraskova. The song was performed by Anastasia Vinnikova, who was internally selected by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC) to represent the nation at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Anastasia Vinnikova and the song "Born in Byelorussia" were initially announced as the Belarusian entry on 28 February 2011, however the song was reworked and retitled as "I Am Belarusian". The song was later disqualified and the replacement entry, "I Love Belarus", was announced on 14 March 2011.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "We Are the Heroes" written by Vladimir Karyakin and Dmitry Karyakin. The song was performed by the band Litesound. The Belarusian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan was selected through the national final Eurofest 2012, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2011 and 14 February 2012, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top five entries qualified to the final. In the final, "All My Life" performed by Alyona Lanskaya was initially selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting, however the entry was later disqualified due to vote rigging and replaced by runner-up "We Are the Heroes" performed by Litesound.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Solayoh" written by Marc Paelinck and Martin King. The song was performed by Alyona Lanskaya. The Belarusian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where "Rhythm of Love" performed by Alyona Lanskaya was initially selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting, however the singer opted to withdraw her song and the replacement entry, "Solayoh", was announced on 7 March 2013.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Cheesecake" written by Yuriy Vashchuk and Dmitry Novik. The song was performed by Teo, which is the artistic name of singer Yuriy Vashchuk. The Belarusian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fourteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Cheesecake" performed by Teo was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Time" written by Uzari, Gerylana and Maimuna. The song was performed by Uzari and Maimuna. The Belarusian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fifteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Time" performed by Uzari and Maimuna was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.
Belarus participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Volshebstvo (Magic)" written by Vitaliy Kurovskiy, Ruslan Aslanov. The song was performed by Ruslan Aslanov. The Belarusian entry for the 2015 contest in Sofia, Bulgaria was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of both telephone vote and the votes of jury members made up of music professionals. After winning both the televote and jury vote, Ruslan Aslanov and his song "Volshebstvo" were declared the winners.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Help You Fly" written by Viktor Drobysh, Alexander Ivanov, Timofei Leontiev and Mary Susan Applegate. The song was performed by Ivan, which is the artistic name of singer Alexander Ivanov. The Belarusian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where public televoting selected the winner. "Help You Fly" performed by Ivan was selected as the winner with 23,167 votes.
Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Time" written by Yevhen Halych and Yevhen Kamenchuk. The song was performed by the band O.Torvald. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine (NTU) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2016 with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. NTU organised a national final in collaboration with commercial broadcaster STB in order to select the Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv. The national selection consisted of three semi-finals, held on 4, 11 and 18 February 2017, and a final, held on 25 February 2017; eight entries competed in each semi-final with the top two from each semi-final advancing to the final. In the final, "Time" performed by O.Torvald was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a three-member jury panel and a public televote.
Belarus participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia on 26 November 2017. The Belarusian entry for the 2017 contest in Tbilisi, Georgia was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). A national final, which took place on 25 August 2017, saw ten competing acts participating in a televised production where the winner was determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from a jury made up of music professionals and a public telephone vote. Helena Meraai won the national final by receiving the most votes from both the professional jury and televoters and she represented Belarus in Georgia with the song "I Am The One".
The Czech Republic participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Lie to Me" written and performed by Mikolas Josef. The Czech broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) organised the national final Eurovision Song CZ in order to select the Czech entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal. Six entries competed in the national final and "Lie to Me" performed by Mikolas Josef was announced as the winner on 29 January 2018 following the combination of votes from a ten-member international jury panel and a public vote.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "Forever" written by Kirill Pavlov and Yevgeny Matyushenko. The song was performed by Alekseev. The Belarusian entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of fifteen competing acts participating in a televised production where "Forever" performed by Alekseev was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.
Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Like It" performed by Zena and written by Zena along with Yulia Kireeva and Viktor Drobysh. The Belarusian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel was selected through the national final Natsionalny Otbor, which was organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of ten competing acts participating in a televised production where a jury panel selected "Like It" performed by Zena as the winner.
Belarus originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Da vidna" written by Uladzislaŭ Paškievič, Valeryja Hrybusava and Mikita Najdzionaŭ. The song was performed by the band VAL. The Belarusian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands was selected through the national final Natsionalny Otbor, which was organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final consisted of twelve competing acts participating in a televised production where "Da vidna" performed by VAL was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a jury panel and public televoting.