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Nation Branding

            The Eurovision Song Contest is a TV broadcasting, international song contest watched by millions of viewers around the world. The three-minute performances allow countries to showcase themselves to a variety of people. It offers a chance for nation branding, allowing countries to convey their own images on their own terms (Jordan, 2014). Some countries use Eurovision for the benefits of exposure to its culture, expressing its political stances, or using the opportunity to educate individuals who are unfamiliar with where their country is located. Belarus has been participating in Eurovision since 2004 and has yet to win. In this blog post, I will be examining Belarus’ view towards national branding on Eurovision. Do they take it seriously? Who gets involved? And how well is it represented on stage? Through these questions, I will also be determining if there are any alignments with its national iden...
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The nation on stage

Eurovision is an international TV song competition where each participating broadcaster submits a song and chooses up to six performers to represent their country (Eurovision, 2017). Belarus has been participating in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004, but has yet to win at Eurovision. The performances from 2012 to 2014 represent Belarus’ take on pop songs with Latin and rock influences on stage. The dominant theme for these performances are based on love, overcoming adversities, and respect for others. In this blog post, I will be analyzing Belarus’ Eurovision performances from 2012 to 2014 and evaluating how diverse Belarus is represented on stage.             In 2012, Belarus was represented by an international band, Litesound. They performed a pop-rock song called “We Are the Heroes” (2012, Belarus) written and composed by band members, Dmitry and Vladimir Kariakin. On stage were five males, one lead ...
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The national self and the 'other'

Identity is what defines us as individuals. It’s how we perceive ourselves in comparison to others and the world. Therefore, national identity is what makes a country-specific and stand out to make them identifiable to other countries. How a nation defines itself can be based on numerous factors such as language, ethnicity, culture, politics, and religion. Belarus is an eastern European country bordered by Russia. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any other former Soviet republic. Therefore, Belarus’ national identity can be puzzling to pinpoint because they are dependent on their neighboring country, Russia. Russia and Belarus have similar cultural, political, and religious views. However, the main identities attributing to Belarus are language, mythology, and religion, making it semi-distinguishable to other countries. In this blog post, I will be explaining Belarus’ national identity on what it means to be a Belarusian and their association ...
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Welcome to Belarus

Welcome to my three-minute blog on Belarus! This blog will be focusing on Belarus and its history in participating in the Eurovision Song Contest throughout the years, starting from their debut in 2004. I look forward to learning more about Belarus as a country and going on this journey with you all.
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