Press releases

MINSK, 7 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian representative at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, Alyona Lanskaya, has made her choice in favor of a new song, Solayoh, BelTA learnt from the press service of the Belarusian TV and Radio Company.

The entry for Malmo was decided at a meeting of the expert council consisting of representatives of the Spamash producer group and the Belarusian TV and Radio Company. The council considered four potential entries for Eurovision 2013, namely Solayoh, I'm Alive, Kiss Me and Rhythm Of Love.

The music and lyrics of Solayoh were written by Marc Paelinck and Martin King. According to the authors, the idea of the song is based on the abstract planet that is called "Solayoh". Hearty and sincere people live there. They believe in miracle and everything that happens around is a mystery. The major ingredients of success on this planet are belief, hope, and love, while the mission of the planet is to inspire people and breathe love into them.

Solayoh was recorded in the Abbey Road Studios in London. “It is encouraging that the western composers who worked with Alyona Lanskaya praised the professionalism of Belarusian musicians and poets who wrote Rhythm of Love and I’m Alive – Alexei and Leonid Shirins and Yuri Vashchuk,” Olga Shlyager, representative of the Belarusian TV and Radio Company responsible for the national selection for Eurovision 2013, said.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 will be held in Malmo, Sweden, on 14-18 May. Alyona Lanskaya will perform in the second half of the first semi-final on 14 May. The following countries will perform in the first semi-final: Denmark, Croatia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovenia, Estonia, Russia, Lithuania, Serbia, Ireland, Cyprus, Montenegro and Belgium.

The running order in the semi-finals will be decided at a meeting of delegations of the participating countries on 18 March. A reminder, this year the running order will not be decided by the drawing of lots, instead by the producers. The move aims to ensure that all the contestants have a chance to stand out, preventing entries that are too similar cancelling each other out.

The two semi-finals and the final will be broadcast live by Belarus 1 TV channel.