Belarus’ Eurovision broadcaster BTRC has been expelled from the European Broadcasting Union. This rules out a Belarusian participation in Italy 2022 and makes Belarus’ return to the Eurovision Song contest and the Junior Eurovision Song contest extremely unlikely.
Let’s take a look at what Belarus has brought to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
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, 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 was also deemed ineligible, Belarus was disqualified from the contest on 26 March 2021. This is the first time Belarus is absent from the contest since the country’s debut in 2004.