Eurovision organisers have rejected a song entry from Belarus due to its lyrics mocking demonstrations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Critics say the song legitimises Lukashenko's regime.
Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday declined a song entry from Belarus due to its controversial political lyrics. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) demanded Belarus submit a new entry or risk being disqualified from the competition.
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“It was concluded that the song puts the political nature of the contest in question,” the EBU said in a statement shared on social media. “In addition, recent reactions to the proposed entry risk bringing the reputation of the ESC into disrepute.”
The song, titled I'll Teach You, ridicules the ongoing demonstrations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. It is performed by the Belarusian group Galasy ZMesta and has garnered over half a million views on the competition's official YouTube page.
Statement from the EBU regarding Belarus’ Eurovision Song Contest 2021 entry. pic.twitter.com/q25Eh80Plx
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) March 11, 2021
Critics slam entry as pro-Lukashenko propaganda
Critics of the song entry believe it legitimises Lukashenko's regime. He was accused of rigging the presidential election last year against his opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Both the European Union and the United States have not recognised Lukashenko as the country's legitimate president.
“This is a mockery of the people of Belarus, of everything that is happening in the country,” singer Angelica Agurbash told Reuters news agency about the song entry. Agurbash previously represented Belarus in the Eurovision competition in 2005.
“Receiving any representative of Lukashenko's bloodthirsty regime would be wrong,” Agurbash added.
Lukashenko has served as the president of Belarus since 1994 and has been criticised by human rights observers for his crackdown on civil liberties and the press. Human rights watchdog Freedom House has characterized Belarus as “not free”, describing the country as a “consolidated authoritarian state” where “elections are openly orchestrated and civil liberties are tightly restricted”.
Belarus controversy latest after Cyprus song entry
The Belarusian song entry is the latest to stir controversy in this year's contest after Cyprus' entry drew condemnation earlier this month from the country's religious community. The Church of Cyprus believes the country's entry, El Diablo (The Devil), promotes satanic worship.
Tonight we gonna dance in the moonlight, and then we gonna do it some more! 🌙💃
— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) February 24, 2021
🇨🇾 Take a listen Cyprus' #ESC2021 entry "El Diablo" by Elena Tsagrinou now!
🎶 https://t.co/Q4vKJpp6GU pic.twitter.com/StTu2fpI6A
According to the competition's official website, El Diablo is about “falling in love with someone as bad as El Diablo”. The song is performed by the Greek singer Elena Tsagkrinou.
A statement from the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus described the entry as praising the “fatalistic submission of humans to the devil's power”. Protesters have gathered in front of Cyprus' state broadcaster to demand the song's withdrawal from the competition.
This year's Eurovision Song Contest will take place in May in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Guinness World Records has recognised Eurovision as the longest-running annual music TV competition, with the first contest taking place in 1956.
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