Belarus participation in the annual contest
Belarus had originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. They internally selected Galasy ZMesta as their representative, initially with the song "Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)", but the entry was deemed ineligible to compete by the EBU due to violation of the contest's rules against political entries. After their replacement entry "Pesnyu pro zaytsa (Song About Hares)" was also deemed ineligible, Belarus was disqualified from the contest on 26 March 2021. This was the first time Belarus was absent from the contest since the country's debut in 2004.
Background
Prior to the 2021 Contest, Belarus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifteen times since its first entry in 2004.[1] The nation's best placing in the contest was sixth, which it achieved in 2007 with the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Belarus had managed to qualify to the final six times. In 2019, Belarus qualified to the final with the song "Like It" performed by Zena, and eventually finished in 24th place with 31 points. In 2020, the duo VAL was set to represent Belarus with the song "Da vidna" before the contest's cancellation.
The Belarusian national broadcaster, National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus (BTRC), broadcasts the event within Belarus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The broadcaster has used both internal selections and national finals to select the Belarusian entry for Eurovision in the past. From 2012 to 2020, BTRC has organised a national final in order to choose Belarus' entry.
Before Eurovision
Decision not to reselect VAL
The musical project VAL, which was to represent Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, was not internally selected for Eurovision 2021 by the broadcaster as a result of a string of events in the aftermath of the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests.
In the run-up towards and after the August 2020 Belarusian presidential elections, VAL showed support for opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and subsequently openly supported the Belarusian democracy movement.[2] After not having appeared in the media for five months, VAL gave an interview to an independent publication, stating that they had not been allowed to talk with the media according to their contract and that they felt neglected by the broadcaster.[3] Back in March 2020, during a broadcast of Makaionka, 9, then Belarusian Eurovision commentator Evgeny Perlin said that the Belarusian state broadcaster had not confirmed VAL yet, because "there [was] still time for that".[4]
On September 25, 2020, a day after the independent interview was published, the Belarusian broadcaster confirmed that they would not internally select VAL for Eurovision 2021, stating the duo had "no conscience".[5][6]
Internal selection of Galasy ZMesta
Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and a live performance of their entries to the broadcaster between 1 January 2021 and 31 January 2021.[7] On 9 March 2021, Galasy ZMesta was announced as the chosen entrant with their song "Ya nauchu tebya (I'll Teach You)" (Russian: Я научу тебя).[8]
Disqualification
After the release of Belarus' 2021 entry, there were immediate calls for the country to be disqualified from the contest, due to the "obvious political subtext" of the song.[9] Among others, the Swedish political party Liberalerna and the Belarusian Foundation for Cultural Solidarity called for Belarus to be disqualified from the contest.[10][11] Several Eurovision news outlets also announced that they would be limiting the coverage of the song.[12]
On 11 March 2021, the EBU released a statement, stating that after scrutinizing the entry, they concluded that "the song puts the non-political nature of the Contest in question". As a result, the EBU declared the entry ineligible to compete in the contest, and demanded that the Belarusian broadcaster BTRC must either submit a new version of the song or an entirely new song that was compliant with the rules, or face disqualification.[13] On 13 March 2021, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko stated that he would potentially order BTRC to opt for a new entry instead of modifying the lyrics of the original song.[14]
On 26 March 2021, BTRC submitted the song "Pesnya pro zaytsev (Song about hares)" (Russian: Песня про зайцев), also sung by Galasy ZMesta, as Belarus' new entry. However, the song was also rejected for the same reasons as their previous attempt, and Belarus was subsequently disqualified from the 2021 contest.[15][16]
Belarus was to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 18 May 2021.[17]
After Eurovision
On 28 May 2021, six days after the 2021 final, the EBU voted to suspend BTRC's membership. BTRC was given two weeks to respond before the suspension comes into effect on 11 June, but there was no public response.[18] The broadcaster was entirely expelled from the EBU on 1 July, therefore losing the rights to broadcast and participate in the contest.[19]
Belarus