Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Belarus has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in every edition since its inception in 2003 until 2020. The Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC), then a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been responsible for the selection process of its participants since its debut. The country hosted the contest at the Minsk-Arena in 2010 and again in 2018.
| Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest | |
|---|---|
| Former participating broadcaster | Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC; 2003–2020) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 18 |
| First appearance | 2003 |
| Last appearance | 2020 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 2005, 2007 |
| Host | 2010, 2018 |
| External links | |
| Belarus's page at JuniorEurovision.tv | |
| For the most recent participation see Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | |
The first representative to participate for the nation at the 2003 contest was Volha Satsiuk with the song "Tantsuy", which finished in fourth place out of sixteen participating entries, achieving a score of 103 points.
Belarus was one of two countries to have never missed an edition of the contest, the other one being the Netherlands, until the broadcaster was expelled from the EBU in 2021. It is also one of the two countries, along with Serbia, to have participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest before debuting in the adult one. The country hosted the contest at the Minsk-Arena in 2010 and again in 2018.
History edit
Belarus was one of the sixteen countries to have made their debut at the inaugural Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003, which took place on 15 November 2003 at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) hold a national final mechanism in order to select its representative for the contests.[2] Child-singer Volha Satsiuk was the first participant to represent Belarus with the song "Tantsuy",[3] which finished in fourth place out of sixteen participating entries, achieving a score of one hundred and three points.[4]
Belarus took part in every edition of the contest from 2003 to 2020,[5] winning the contest twice: in 2005 with Ksenia Sitnik performing the song "My vmeste";[6] and again in 2007 with Alexey Zhigalkovich performing the entry "S druz'yami".[7] Viewing figures and interest for the Junior Eurovision in Belarus is very high; according to former EBU Executive Supervisor Svante Stockselius in 2010, Junior Eurovision was then considered "one of Belarus' most popular television shows".[8] On 8 June 2009, the EBU confirmed that Belarus had won the rights to organise the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 over bids from Russia and Malta;[9][better source needed] after undergoing construction in 2009, the 15,000-spectator Minsk-Arena hosted the event.[8]
On 17 May 2016, Belarus confirmed that the country would be making its fourteenth Junior Eurovision appearance at the 2016 contest.[10] The national selection show took place on 26 August 2016,[11] in which ten acts competed in a live televised broadcast, with the winner having been determined by 50% professional jury and 50% public televoting.[12] Alexander Minyonok won the 2016 Belarusian final with the song "Muzyka moikh pobed" and represented Belarus at the 2016 contest.[13] On 15 October 2017, it was announced that Belarus would host the contest for a second time in the capital, Minsk.[14] On 21 November 2017, Belarus' Deputy Prime Minister Vasily Zharko stated that the contest was scheduled to be held at Minsk Arena in November 2018. On 18 March 2018, Minsk Arena was confirmed as the venue by the contest organisers.[15]
On 28 May 2021, the EBU announced it was suspending BTRC's membership due to "exceptional concerns" over its broadcasts. The broadcaster was given two weeks to respond before the suspension came into effect, which it failed to do publicly.[16] Exclusion from EBU membership meant that BTRC would lose the rights to broadcast and participate in Eurovision events.[17] On 1 July, the EBU officially imposed a three-year suspension on BTRC, scheduled to end on 1 July 2024, and the broadcaster subsequently acknowledged and accepted its temporary inability to take part in Eurovision.[18][19][20] Following this, the director general of BTRC, Ivan Eismont, made a statement regarding the EBU's actions, in which he claimed that the national response to Belarus' exclusion from the adult contest was ambivalent, but that there was general sadness regarding their inability to compete at the junior contest after their success at the event over the years.[21] The EBU had the right to review the suspension at any point prior to its official expiration,[20] however, in April 2024 it declared that there was "no reason to change [its] position at the current time", thus extending the suspension indefinitely.[22]
Participation overview edit
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| Year | Artist | Song | Language | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Volha Satsiuk | "Tantsuy" (Танцуй) | Belarusian | 4 | 103 |
| 2004 | Egor Volchek | "Spiavajcie so mnoj" (Спявайце со мной) | Belarusian | 14 | 9 |
| 2005 | Ksenia Sitnik | "My vmeste" (Мы вместе) | Russian | 1 | 149 |
| 2006 | Andrey Kunets | "Noviy den" (Новый день) | Russian | 2 | 129 |
| 2007 | Alexey Zhigalkovich | "S druz'yami" (С друзьями) | Russian | 1 | 137 |
| 2008 | Dasha, Alina & Karyna | "Serdtse Belarusi" (Сердце Беларуси) | Belarusian, Russian | 6 | 86 |
| 2009 | Yury Demidovich | "Volshebniy krolik" (Волшебный кролик) | Russian, Latin | 9 | 48 |
| 2010 | Daniil Kozlov | "Muzyki svet" (Музыки свет) | Russian | 5 | 85 |
| 2011 | Lidiya Zablotskaya | "Angely dobra" (Ангелы добра) | Russian | 3 | 99 |
| 2012 | Egor Zheshko | "A more-more" (А море-море) | Russian | 9 | 56 |
| 2013 | Ilya Volkov | "Poy so mnoy" (Пой со мной) | Russian | 3 | 108 |
| 2014 | Nadezhda Misyakova | "Sokal" (Сокал) | Belarusian | 7 | 71 |
| 2015 | Ruslan Aslanov | "Volshebstvo (Magic)" (Волшебство) | Russian, English | 4 | 105 |
| 2016 | Alexander Minyonok | "Muzyka moikh pobed (Music Is My Only Way)" (Музыка моих побед) | Russian, English | 7 | 177 |
| 2017 | Helena Meraai | "I Am the One" | Russian | 5 | 149 |
| 2018 | Daniel Yastremski | "Time" | Russian, English | 11 | 114 |
| 2019 | Liza Misnikova | "Pepelny (Ashen)" (Пепельный) | Russian, English | 11 | 92 |
| 2020 | Arina Pehtereva | "Aliens" | Russian, English | 5 | 130 |
Commentators and spokespersons edit
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2019) |
The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov.[23]
The Belarusian broadcaster, BTRC, sent its own commentators to each contest in order to provide commentary in the Russian language. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Belarus. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2003.
| Year | Channel | Commentator | Spokesperson | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Belarus 1 | Denis Kurian | Unknown | |
| 2004 | Daria | |||
| 2005 | Belarus 1, Belarus 24 | Anton Lediaev | ||
| 2006 | Liza Anton-Baychuk | |||
| 2007 | Alexander Rogachevskiy | |||
| 2008 | Anjelica Misevich | |||
| 2009 | Arina Aleshkevich | |||
| 2010 | Pavel Lozovik | Anastasiya Butyugina | ||
| 2011 | Denis Kurian | Anna Kovalyova | ||
| 2012 | Pavel Lozovik | Maria Drozdova | ||
| 2013 | Anatoliy Lipetskiy | Alexandra Tkach | ||
| 2014 | Katerina Taperkina | |||
| 2015 | Valeria Drobyshevskaya | |||
| 2016 | Julia Pertsova | Ruslan Aslanov | ||
| 2017 | Evgeny Perlin | Saba Karazanashvili | ||
| 2018 | Georgiy Koldun and Andrey Makaenok | Arina Rovba | ||
| 2019 | Evgeny Perlin | Emilia | ||
| 2020 | Pavel Lazovik | Ksenia Galetskaya | ||
| 2021–2023 | No broadcast | Did not participate | ||
Hostings edit
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Minsk | Minsk-Arena | Leila Ismailava and Denis Kurian[37] |
| 2018 | Eugene Perlin, Helena Meraai and Zena[38] |
See also edit
- Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest – Senior version of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
- Belarus in the Eurovision Young Dancers – A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
- Belarus in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
- Belarus in the Turkvision Song Contest – A contest for countries and regions which are of Turkic-speaking or Turkic ethnicity.
References edit
- ^ García, Belén (7 September 2015). "#BestOfJESC – Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003". esc-plus.com. ESC+Plus. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Escudero, Victor M. (4 October 2012). "Tonight: Albania picks their first ever Junior entry!". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ Escudero, Victor M. (9 November 2012). "Remember the first ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest?". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Scoreboard". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 15 November 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Belarus in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (26 November 2005). "Belarus wins Junior 2005". esctoday.com. ESCToday. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (8 December 2007). "Alexey from Belarus wins Junior Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ a b Bakker, Sietse (8 June 2009). "Exclusive: Belarus to host Junior 2010". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Mikheev, Andy. "News on JESC 2010 organization". ESCKAZ.com. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (17 May 2016). "Belarus: Junior Eurovision 2016 Participation Confirmed". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (10 July 2016). "Belarus national final August 26". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (26 August 2016). "Tonight Belarus selects for Junior Eurovision 2016". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ García, Belén (26 August 2016). "Junior Eurovision: Alexander Minyonok wins in Belarus!". esc-plus.com. Esc-plus. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Minsk announced as the host city for Junior Eurovision 2018!". Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Junior Eurovision 2018 to take place on Sunday 25th November!". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ "EBU EXECUTIVE BOARD AGREES TO SUSPENSION OF BELARUS MEMBER BTRC" (Press release). EBU. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ Ten Veen, Renske (28 May 2021). "Belarus: EBU Executive Board agrees to suspend Belarusian state broadcaster BTRC". Wiwibloggs. from the original on 31 May 2021.
- ^ "Белтэлерадыёкампанію выключылі з Еўрапейскага вяшчальнага саюза". euroradio.fm. 30 June 2021. from the original on 1 July 2021.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (1 July 2021). "Belarus: EBU Suspends BTRC's Membership". Eurovoix. from the original on 3 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b Granger, Anthony (27 August 2021). "Belarus: BTRC Reveals EBU Suspension Scheduled to Expire in 2024". Eurovoix. from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (21 August 2021). "Belarus: BTRC Director Expresses Regret at Being Unable to Compete in Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ Farren, Neil (23 April 2023). "Belarus: BTRC Indefinitely Suspended From EBU". Eurovoix. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
- ^ Fisher, Luke James (21 November 2015). "Tonight: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015!". Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Bulgaria 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ . belta.by. BelTA. 10 November 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Детское Евровидение 2013 Киев Украина Новости Junior Eurovision 2013 Kyiv Ukraine News". esckaz.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Junior Eurovision 2014 - Event page/ Организация конкурса". esckaz.com. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Делегация Беларуси отправляется в Софию на детское "Евровидение"". naviny.by (in Russian). BelaPAN. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Juhász, Ervin (21 November 2015). . junioreurovision.tv. EBU. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Belarusian delegation leaves for Junior Eurovision 2016". tvr.by. BTRC. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (20 November 2017). "Belarus: Evgeny Perlin Announced As Junior Eurovision 2017 Commentator". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Eurovision l OGAE Belarus 🇧🇾 on Instagram: "A young resident of Tbilisi with Belarusian roots Saba Karazanashvili will announce the ratings of the Belarusian audience and the jury - the boy's mother works in ..."". instagram.com. OGAE Belarus. 22 November 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Детское Евровидение 2018". tvr.by (in Russian). BTRC. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (15 November 2019). "Belarus: Evgeny Perlin Announced as Junior Eurovision 2019 Commentator". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Filippidou, Ifigeneia (24 November 2019). "These are the Junior Eurovision 2019 spokespersons". esc-plus.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (27 November 2020). "Belarus: Ksenia Galetskaya Announced as Spokesperson for Junior Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (22 November 2020). "Belarus: Belarus 1 & Belarus 24 Broadcasting Junior Eurovision 2020". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Siim, Jarmo (6 September 2010). "Meet them: the hosts of Junior 2010!". JuniorEurovision.tv. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ Zwart, Josianne (26 October 2018). "Meet the hosts of Junior Eurovision 2018!". junioreurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 October 2018.