Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Belarus was represented by Ruslan Alekhno in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Hasta La Vista".

Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Country Belarus
National selection
Selection processEurofest 2008
Selection date(s)Semi-final
21 December 2007
Final
21 January 2008
Selected entrantRuslan Alekhno
Selected song"Hasta La Vista"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (17th, 27 points)
Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2007 • 2008 • 2009►

Before Eurovision

Eurofest 2008

Eurofest 2008 was the national final format developed by BTRC in order to select Belarus's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The competition included semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008 respectively.

Semi-final

The semi-final took place on 21 December 2007 at the BTRC TV Studios in Minsk, hosted by Denis Kurian and Vera Poliakova. The fifteen entries first faced a public televote where the winning song advanced. An additional two qualifiers were to be selected from the remaining fourteen entries by a nine-member jury, however the jury decided to select three qualifiers.

The members of the jury were Vladimir Rylatko, Vasily Rainchik, Anatoliy Yarmolenko, Yadviga Poplavskaya, Denis Shpitalnikov, Alexandr Kapenkin, Irina Dorofeeva, Leonid Shirin and Mihail Finberg.[1]

  Televote qualifier
  Jury qualifier
Semi-final – 21 December 2007
Draw Artist(s) Song Songwriter(s) Televote Place
1 The Champions "Drive Me Crazy" Olisa Emeka Orakposim, Vyacheslav Lyschik 486 12
2 Lena Voloshina "That's All I Feel" Andrey Kostyugov, Leonid Shirin 858 8
3 Yuliya Guseva "Maybe" Alexandr Melnikov 759 9
4 Ana Sharkunova & German Titov "My budem pervye" M. Aleynikov, V. Kubyshkin 991 7
5 Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta La Vista" Eleonora Melnik, Taras Demchuk 6,089 1
6 Oksana Kovalevskaya "Vsegda odna" Oxana Kovalevskaya 271 15
7 PinCode "You Can" V. Masalsky, N. Bogdanova 1,075 6
8 Victor Pshenichniy "Baby Blue" Alex Nabeev 338 14
9 Gunesh "I Can't Live Without You" Gunesh Abasova, M. Haitbayeva, G. Galushko 2,317 4
10 Scandal "Everybody" Ioannis Ksinakis, Andrey Kostyugov 1,689 5
11 Po Glazam "Devochka tryohtysachnih let" Stanislava Zylikova 420 13
12 Palats "Kola mlyna" Alieh Chamienka 2,438 3
13 Dali "Silver Sky" V. Rudenko 679 10
14 Katrin "Follow Me" Andrey Kostyugov, Katrin 663 11
15 Litesound "Do You Believe" Vladimir Karyakin, Dmitry Karyakin 3,967 2

Final

The final took place on 21 January 2008 at the Sports Palace in Minsk, hosted by Denis Kurian and Vera Poliakova. The four finalists still have the choice to change their songs. However, all four finalists did not perform a new song in the final. A nine-member jury selected the song "Hasta La Vista" performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner of the competition.

The members of the jury were Vladimir Rylatko, Vasily Rainchik, Anatoliy Yarmolenko, Yadviga Poplavskaya, Denis Shpitalnikov, Alexandr Kapenkin, Irina Dorofeeva, Leonid Shirin and Mihail Finberg.[1]

Final – 21 January 2008
Draw Artist Song
1 Ruslan Alekhno "Hasta La Vista"
2 Litesound "Do You Believe"
3 Gunesh "I Can't Live Without You"
4 Po Glazam "Devochka tryohtysachnih let"

At Eurovision

In previous years, if a country placed in the top 10 in the final, they would automatically be qualified for the final of the next contest. Had this rule remained for the 2008 contest, Belarus would have directly qualified for the final. However, a change in rules due to the large intake of countries participating in the contest meant that only five countries, the host country and the Big 4 countries, would automatically qualify for the final. As such, Belarus was required to compete in one of the two semi-finals of the 2008 contest in Serbia. Belarus took part in the second semi-final on 22 May 2008, performing in ninth position, following Czech Republic and preceding Latvia. The country finished in 17th place with 27 points, failing to qualify for the Grand Final.

Points Awarded by Belarus[2]
Points Awarded to Belarus (Semi-Final 2)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Spokespersons

For the 2008 contest the spokesperson for the Belarus broadcast was Olga Barabanschikova.[3]

References
  1. "Eurovision - Belarus". Esckaz (in English and Russian)
  2. Eurovision Song Contest 2008
  3. "Spokespersons". escforum.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.

See also
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