Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Eurofest 2007 was the national final format developed by BTRC to select the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The competition consisted of a semi-final and final held on 15 December 2006 and 22 January 2007, respectively. Both shows were hosted by Denis Kurian and Olga Schlager and broadcast on the First Channel and Belarus TV as well as online via the broadcaster's official website tvr.by.

Artists and composers were able to submit their applications and entries to the broadcaster between 25 October 2006 and 20 November 2006.[3] At the closing of the deadline, 66 entries were received by the broadcaster. Auditions were held between 29 November and 1 December 2006 at the Youth Variety Theater in Minsk where a jury panel was tasked with selecting up to fifteen entries to proceed to the televised national final. The jury consisted of Mihail Finberg (chairman of the jury, director of the Belarusian State Academic Symphony Orchestra), Vladimir Rylatko (deputy head of the Belarusian Ministry of Culture), Vasily Rainchik (musician/composer), Alexander Tikhanovich (national final project manager), Denis Shpitalnikov (head of music and entertainment programmes of BTRC), Anatoly Yarmolenko (director of the ensemble Syabry) and Yadviga Poplavskaya (singer).[4] Fifteen semi-finalists were selected and announced on 5 December 2006.[5] Prior to the final, Dmitry Koldun opted to change his song as the national final rules set by BTRC allowed for the finalists to completely change their candidate songs.

The televised semi-final took place on 15 December 2006 at the Republic Palace in Minsk. Prior to the semi-final, a draw for the running order took place on 14 December 2006.[6] Three songs qualified to the final. The fifteen competing entries first faced a public televote where one song advanced: "Angel mechty" performed by Dmitry Koldun. An additional two qualifiers were selected from the remaining fourteen entries by the votes of jury members made up of music professionals: "How Long" performed by Diana Gurtskaya and "Super Star" performed by The Project.

In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by 2003 Belarusian Junior Eurovision contestant Volha Satsiuk and 2006 Belarusian Eurovision contestant Polina Smolova.[4]

The televised final took place on 22 January 2007 at the Sports Palace in Minsk. The votes of jury members made up of music professionals selected the song "Work Your Magic" performed by Dmitry Koldun as the winner.

In addition to the performances from the competitors, the show featured guest performances by former Belarusian Eurovision contestants Aleksandra and Konstantin (2004), Angelica Agurbash (2005) and Polina Smolova (2006), former Belarusian Junior Eurovision contestants Ksenia Sitnik (2005) and Andrey Kunets (2006), former Eurovision Song Contest winners Carola (1991) and Marie N (2002), 2006 Latvian Eurovision contestants Cosmos and 2006 Russian Eurovision contestant Dima Bilan.[7]

The official music video of the song, filmed in February 2007 and directed by Oleg Gusev, was presented to the public on 8 March 2007 on the First Channel. The concept of the video was based on the music video of the song "Jaded" by American band Aerosmith.[4][8]

Dmitry Koldun made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Work Your Magic" as the Belarusian Eurovision entry. Between 3 February and 5 March, Dmitry Koldun performed "Work Your Magic" during the Greek, Irish, Macedonian, Montenegrin and Spanish Eurovision national finals, and the presentation shows of the 2007 Cypriot and Bosnian Eurovision entries. In February and April, Koldun participated in promotional activities in Russia where he performed the Russian version of "Work Your Magic", titled "Day mne silu", during the Channel One programmes Novye pesni o glavnom and Vysshaya liga, as well as during the NTV programme Glavniy Geroy.[9] Between 13 and 15 April, Koldun performed during events which were held in Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium, as well as appearing during the RTL 4 programme Life & Cooking in The Netherlands. In addition to his international appearances, Dmitry Koldun also participated in promotional activities in Belarus where he performed during the Za Nezavisimuyu Belarus event, which was at the Minsk Hero City Obelisk in Minsk on 25 March.[4]

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 Moldova in the semi-final and to Russia in the final of the contest.