Belarus fails to make it into final of 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
208- 25.05.2012, 0:00
Belarus’ entry at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest failed to qualify for the final as a result of a semi-final held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 24.
Pop-rock band Litesound represented Belarus with a song called “We are the Heroes.”
The semi-final, held ahead of Saturday`s main event, saw 10 more countries named finalists.
Among the successful acts to go through were the entries of Serbia, Macedonia, Malta, Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Estonia, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lithuania.
Litesound was picked as Belarus’ entry amid a controversy over vote rigging during Eurofest, the national selection contest for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Alena Lanskaya, a resident of Mahilyow, was first announced the winner. Claiming vote rigging in favor of the 26-year-old blonde, the frontman of runners-up Litesound walked out of the award ceremony in protest, while the third-place winner, Hyunesh, did not even appear on the stage to collect her prize.
Alyaksandr Lukashenka intervened, ordering a probe, which reportedly established that Litesound were the actual winners of the national selection contest.
Belarus also failed to make it into the final of the Eurovision Song Contest last year. It placed 24th among the 25 finalists at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, earning a disappointing 18 points.
