Belarus participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song „Hasta la vista“ written by Eleonora Melnik and Taras Demchuk. The song was performed by Ruslan Alekhno. The Belarusian entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected through the national final Eurofest 2008, organised by the Belarusian broadcaster National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC). The national final was a televised production which consisted of a semi-final and a final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where four entries qualified to the final: one entry selected by a public televote and three entries selected by a nine-member jury panel. In the final, the jury panel selected „Hasta la vista“ performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner.
Belarus was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2008. Performing during the show in position 9, „Hasta la vista“ was not announced among the 10 qualifying entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed seventeenth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 27 points.
Eurofest 2008
Eurofest 2008 was the national final format developed by BTRC to select the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 21 December 2007 and 21 January 2008, respectively. Both shows were hosted by Denis Kurian and Vera Poliakova and broadcast on the First Channel and Belarus TV as well as online via the broadcaster’s official website tvr.by.
Competing entries
Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 15 November 2007 and 20 November 2007. At the closing of the deadline, over 70 entries were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held between 5 and 7 December 2007 at the Youth Variety Theater in Minsk where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. The jury consisted of Mihail Finberg (chairman of the jury, director of the Belarusian State Academic Symphony Orchestra), Vladimir Rylatko (deputy head of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture), Vasily Rainchik (musician/composer), Anatoly Yarmolenko (director of the ensemble Syabry), Yadviga Poplavskaya (singer), Denis Shpitalnikov (head of music and entertainment programmes of BTRC), Alexandr Kapenkin (deputy director of BTRC), Irina Dorofeeva (singer) and Leonid Shirin (composer). Fifteen semi-finalists were selected and announced on 11 December 2007.
Semi-final
The televised semi-final took place on 21 December 2007 at the BTRC studios in Minsk. Prior to the semi-final, a draw for the running order took place on 20 December 2007. Four songs qualified to the final. The fifteen competing entries first faced a public televote where one song advanced. An additional three qualifiers were selected from the remaining fourteen entries by the votes of jury members made up of music professionals.
Semi-final – 21 December 2007
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Televote | Place | Qualifier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Champions | „Drive Me Crazy“ | Olisa Emeka Orakposim, Vyacheslav Lyschik | 486 | 12 | Non Qualifier |
| 2 | Lena Voloshina | „That’s All I Feel“ | Andrey Kostyugov, Leonid Shirin | 858 | 8 | Non Qualifier |
| 3 | Yuliya Guseva | „Maybe“ | Alexander Melnikov | 759 | 9 | Non Qualifier |
| 4 | Ana Sharkunova and German Titov | „My budem pervye“ (Мы будем первые) | Max Aleinikov, Vladimir Kubyshkin | 991 | 7 | Non Qualifier |
| 5 | Ruslan Alekhno | „Hasta la vista“ | Eleonora Melnik, Taras Demchuk | 6,089 | 1 | Public vote qualifier |
| 6 | Oksana Kovalevskaya | „Vsegda odna“ (Всегда одна) | Oxana Kovalevskaya | 271 | 15 | Non Qualifier |
| 7 | PinCode | „You Can“ | Vitaly Masalsky, Nina Bogdanova | 1,075 | 6 | Non Qualifier |
| 8 | Victor Pshenichniy | „Baby Blue“ | Alexander Nabeev | 338 | 14 | Non Qualifier |
| 9 | Gunesh | „I Can’t Live Without You“ | Gunesh Abasova, Marina Khaitbayeva, Gleb Galushko | 2,317 | 4 | Jury qualifier |
| 10 | Scandal | „Everybody“ | Ioannis Ksinakis, Andrey Kostyugov | 1,689 | 5 | Non Qualifier |
| 11 | Po glazam | „Devochka tryohtysachnih let“ (Девочка трёхтысячных лет) | Stasi Zylikavaj | 420 | 13 | Jury qualifier |
| 12 | Palats | „Kola mlyna“ (Кола млына) | Alieh Chamienka | 2,438 | 3 | Non Qualifier |
| 13 | Dali | „Silver Sky“ | Victor Rudenko | 679 | 10 | Non Qualifier |
| 14 | Katrin | „Follow Me“ | Andrey Kostyugov, Ekaterina Tsvirko | 663 | 11 | Non Qualifier |
| 15 | Litesound | „Do You Believe“ | Vladimir Karyakin, Dmitry Karyakin | 3,967 | 2 | Jury qualifier |
Final
The televised final took place on 21 January 2008 at the Sports Palace in Minsk. The votes of jury members made up of music professionals selected the song „Hasta la vista“ performed by Ruslan Alekhno as the winner.
In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by former Eurovision Song Contest winners Sertab Erener (2003), Ruslana (2004) and Lordi (2006), 2005 Russian Eurovision contestant Natalia Podolskaya and Belarusian Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007 winner Alexey Zhigalkovich.
Final – 21 January 2008
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Po glazam | „Devochka tryohtysachnih let“ (Девочка трёхтысячных лет) | – |
| 2 | Gunesh | „I Can’t Live Without You“ | – |
| 3 | Litesound | „Do You Believe“ | – |
| 4 | Ruslan Alekhno | „Hasta la vista“ | Winner |
Eurofest Final On Screens
Source: esckaz.com