Eurofest 2009 was the national final format developed by BTRC in order to select Belarus's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The competition included semi-final and a final held on 15 December 2008 and 19January 2009 respectively. The results for the semi-final were determined exclusively by a professional jury who selected five finalists, while the results in the final were determined exclusively by public televoting.
Competing entries
A submission period for interested artists and composers was opened on 5 October 2008 and lasted until 20 November 2008. At the closing of the deadline, 126 applications were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held between 3 December 2008 and 5 December 2008 where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries from the applicants to proceed to the televised national final, which were announced on 5 December 2008.
Semi-final
The semi-final took place on 15 December 2008 at the BTRC TV Studios in Minsk, hosted by Denis Kurian. Five entries were selected by a professional jury to advance to the final. The finalists had an opportunity to change their selected songs before performing in the final again.
Final
The final took place on 19 January 2009 at the Sports Palace in Minsk, hosted by Anastasiya Tihanovich and 2007 Belarusian representative Dmitry Koldun. The running order for the songs was not revealed until the night of the contest. Public televoting exclusively selected the song "Eyes That Never Lie" performed by Petr Elfimov as the winner, receiving a landslide 11,475 votes, 3,526 more than runner-up Gunesh. Veter v golove were the only act to have changed their song from the semi-final. In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by the host Koldun, and 2008 Belarusian and Ukrainian entrants, Ruslan Alehno and Ani Lorak.
Promotion
After being selected as the Belarusian entry, Elfimov promoted his entry in a number of countries before Eurovision, making guest appearances at both the Greek and Ukrainian national finals on 18 February and 8 March respectively.
At Eurovision
A new version of "Eyes That Never Lie" was made after winning the Belarusian national final, which was produced by Tero Kinnunen at the Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, both known for their associations with symphonic metal band Nightwish. Belarus competed in the first semi final where they failed to qualify, finishing 13th of 18 participants, scoring 25 points.
