Belarus In The Eurovision Song Contest 2005
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Belarus participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005 The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "Wild Dances" by Ruslana. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...
with the song "Love Me Tonight" written by Nikos Terzis and Nektarios Tyrakis. The song was performed by
Angelica Agurbash Angelica Anatolyevna Yalinskaya (russian: Анжелика Анатольевна Ялиньская, translit=Anzhelika Anatol'yevna Yalin'skaya; be, Анжаліка Анатольеўна Ялінская, translit=Anzhalika Anatoĺjeŭna Ja ...
. The Belarusian entry for the 2005 contest in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
was selected through a national final organised by the Belarusian broadcaster
National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus The National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Нацыянальная дзяржаўная тэлерадыёкампанія Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Национальная государст ...
(BTRC). The national final consisted of a semi-final which was a televised production and an untelevised final held on 25 December 2004 and 31 January 2005, respectively. Fifteen competing acts participated in the semi-final where the top three entries as determined by a public televote qualified to the final. In the final, "Boys and Girls" performed by Angelica Agurbash was initially selected as the winner by a jury panel, however the singer opted to withdraw her song and the replacement entry, "Love Me Tonight", was announced on 18 March 2005. Belarus competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 19 May 2005. Performing during the show in position 8, "Love Me Tonight" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed thirteenth out of the 25 participating countries in the semi-final with 67 points.


Background

Prior to the 2005 Contest, Belarus had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest one time since its first entry in 2004. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the , Belarus had yet to qualify to the final. The nation's best placing in the contest was nineteenth in the semi-final, which it achieved in 2004 with the song "My Galileo" performed by
Aleksandra and Konstantin Aleksandra and Konstantin ( Belarusian: , Aliaksandra i Kanstantsin) is a Belarusian musical duo composed of singer Aleksandra Kirsanova ( be, Аляксандра Кірсанава, Aliaksandra Kirsanava) and guitarist Konstantin Drapezo ( be, ...
. The Belarusian national broadcaster,
National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus The National State TV and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Нацыянальная дзяржаўная тэлерадыёкампанія Рэспублікі Беларусь; russian: Национальная государст ...
(BTRC), broadcasts the event within Belarus and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. In 2004, BTRC organised a national final in order to choose Belarus' entry, a selection procedure that continued for their 2005 entry.


Before Eurovision


National final

The Belarusian national final consisted of a semi-final and final held on 25 December 2004 and 31 January 2005, respectively. The televised portion of the competition was broadcast on the First Channel.


Competing entries

On 17 September 2004, BTRC opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their applications and entries until 1 October 2004, however, the deadline was later postponed until 1 November 2004. At the closing of the deadline, 31 entries were received by the broadcaster. A jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. Thirteen semi-finalists were initially selected and announced on 17 December 2004, while the song "From Belarus With Love" performed by Janet was later announced as the fourteenth semi-finalist.


Semi-final

The televised semi-final aired on 25 December 2004, hosted by Svetlana Borovskaya and Ales Kruglyakov. The show was filmed on 23 and 24 December 2004 at the BTRC studios in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. Public televoting exclusively selected the top three songs to qualify to the final.


Final

The untelevised final took place on 31 January 2005 at the Youth Variety Theater in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. The votes of jury members made up of music professionals selected the song "Boys and Girls" performed by
Angelica Agurbash Angelica Anatolyevna Yalinskaya (russian: Анжелика Анатольевна Ялиньская, translit=Anzhelika Anatol'yevna Yalin'skaya; be, Анжаліка Анатольеўна Ялінская, translit=Anzhalika Anatoĺjeŭna Ja ...
as the winner.


Song selection

Following Angelica Agurbash's win at the Belarusian national final, the singer stated that she could be performing a song other than "Boys and Girls" at the Eurovision Song Contest. The national final rules set by BTRC allowed for the winning artist to change their song if they were able to find a more suitable alternative for the contest. The broadcaster later announced that three songs were under consideration: a new version of "Boys and Girls" recorded at the
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, "Love Me Tonight" written by Nikos Terzis and Nektarios Tyrakis, and "Show Me Your Love" written by
Svika Pick Svika Pick (, 3 October 1949 – 14 August 2022), born Henryk Pick, was an Israeli pop singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality. Pick first gained traction on a national level after playing a lead part in an Israeli version of t ...
and Mirit Shem-Or. A public poll was also opened on Agurbash's official website in order to provide consultation on which song should be selected. On 18 March 2005, BTRC announced that Angelica Agurbash would be performing the song "Love Me Tonight" at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, which officially replaced "Boys and Girls" as the Belarusian entry through the decision of jury members made up of music professionals. The song was presented to the public via the release of the official music video on 22 March 2005.


At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
contest were required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final would progress to the final. A special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final on 19 May 2005. Belarus was drawn to perform in position 8, following the entry from
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and before the entry from
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. The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Belarus on the First Channel with commentary by Ales Kruglyakov. The Belarusian spokesperson, who announced the Belarusian votes during the final, was Elena Ponomareva.


Semi-final

Angelica Agurbash took part in technical rehearsals on 12 and 14 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May. Prior to the semi-final, Belarus was considered by
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
s to be the fourth most likely country to advance into the final. The Belarusian performance featured Angelica Agurbash performing a choreographed routine on stage wearing a golden outfit together with four male backing dancers wearing denim outfits with white collars which was based on the Tsarist court servants. Agurbash's outfit was removed twice during the performance, firstly revealing a blue and gold dress designed by Russian designer
Valentin Yudashkin Valentin Abramovich Yudashkin (russian: Валентин Абрамович Юдашкин; born October 14, 1963) is a Russian fashion designer. Career Born in Moscow Oblast, Yudashkin came to prominence during the 1980s, dressing Raisa Gor ...
who based the design on the
Ekaterina II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
collection, and secondly a golden skin-tight body suit containing
Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...
crystals. Agurbash was also joined by two on-stage backing vocalists:
Chryso Stamatopoulou Chryso Stamatopoulou (in Greek: Χρυσώ Σταματοπούλου) is a Greek rock singer, composer, musical theatre actress, vocal coach and lead singer of romantic folk metal band Chrysilia. She is mostly known for her two greek rock stud ...
and Victoria Chalkitis. At the end of the show, Belarus was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belarus placed thirteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 67 points.


Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belarus and awarded by Belarus in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Israel in the semi-final and to Russia in the final of the contest.


Points awarded to Belarus


Points awarded by Belarus


References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2005
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...