BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

24/10/2006

Belarus decides 24th February

Belarus will select its next entry to the Eurovision Song Contest in a national final scheduled for 24th Feburary next year, according to various unconfirmed reports across the Internet. Submissions from singers and songwriters are due by 20th November, after which a jury will select 15 songs to compete in a semifinal scheduled for 3rd February. As many as three songs from the semifinal will be selected by a combination of jury and televote in order to advance to the national final.

A jury will select two finalists during the national semifinal broadcast on 3rd February; televoters will also be able to select one finalist to advance. If the televoters select a finalist who was not selected by the jury, then three finalists will compete on 24th February. A professional jury will decide which song from the final will represent Belarus in Helsinki.

Belarusat the Eurovision Song Contest

The 2007 national selection in Belarus will essentially follow the same format as 2006 , a fact which prompted the comment on one fan site "This worked semi-well for them last year, in the fact that they are in the Semi, again!" Belarus must take part in the 2007 semifinal, as Polina Smolova finished in a poor 22nd place at the Athens semifinal of 2006. Only Andorra finished below Belarus in that contest.

The Helsinki contest will mark Belarus' fourth year of participation. Belarus first entered the contest in 2004, which was in fact the same year that the semifinal format was introduced. Unfortunately, the country has not yet been able to place a singer into the Eurovision Song Contest final, and to date, Belarus' highest finisher was Angelica Agurbash who placed 13th - a mere three positions short of making the big night.

Source:

http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/6601