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".

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.

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.

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[Eurovision [Song Contest 2008]]

Semi-final 2

Final

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

  • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point

  • Spokespersons

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