| Belgium | |
|---|---|
| Member station | VRT, RTBF |
| National selection events | Eurosong |
| Appearances | |
| Appearances | 53 |
| First appearance | 1956 |
| Best result | 1st: 1986 |
| Worst result | Last: 1961, 1962, 1965, 1973, 1979, 1985, 1993, 2000 |
| External links | |
| Belgium's page at Eurovision.tv | |
Belgium is a founding member of the Eurovision Song Contest. Since 1956, the country has participated 52 times, only being absent three times in total: in 1994, 1997 and 2001, due to low scores in the previous contests that relegated Belgium from the contest.
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Belgium has two national broadcasters of the contest, Flemish broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep (VRT) and Waloon broadcaster Radio télévision belge de la communauté française (RTBF). The two broadcasters rotate selection for the Eurovision Song Contest each year.
While VRT normally hosts a national final, Eurosong, when selecting their entries for Eurovision, it has been normal for RTBF to hold an internal selection process (although it has been known for RTBF to hold a national final at times, for example in 1998, 2005[1][2] and 2011, while VRT internally choose Tom Dice for the 2010 edition).
Belgium has won the contest once, in 1986 when Sandra Kim won with her song "J'aime la vie" in Bergen, Norway. Although she claimed she was 15 years old, she was actually only 13 and too young, but was allowed to keep her victory. Currently the minimum age for participation is 16 and thus Sandra Kim will remain the youngest winner unless the age limit is lowered.
Belgium's next best placing has been second which it has achieved twice at the 1978 and 2003 contests. However, it has been last eight times.
In 2003, Urban Trad sang in an invented language earning second place with 165 points, 2 points fewer than that year's winner Turkey. Ishtar did the same in 2008, but came 17th in the first semi-final and thus did not qualify for the final.
In the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Belgium participated in the first Semi Final on the 12th May 2009, however they received just one point which came from Armenia and left them in second last position.
The 2010 entry for Belgium was Tom Dice, runner-up of the Belgian Flemish version of The X Factor in 2008. Dice was internally selected and announced by VRT on 25 November 2009.[3][4] Tom Dice finished 1st in the first semi-final, allowing Belgium to participate to the final for the first time since the introduction of the semi-finals. He eventually finished 6th, Belgium's best result since 2003.
In 2011, the entry for Belgium was Witloof Bay. They didn't qualify for the finals, finishing 11th only one point behind Moldova, and thus 1 point behind the qualification.
Due to the good results & the Flemish population's choice, the VRT cancelled 'Eurosong' and will choose internally in 2012.[5][6]
Belgium has given the most points to...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Kingdom | 145 |
| 2 | Germany | 135 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 131 |
| 4 | Ireland | 130 |
| 5 | Spain | 119 |
Belgium has received the most points from...
| Rank | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 102 |
| 2 | France | 92 |
| 3 | Spain | 84 |
| 4 | United Kingdom | 82 |
| 5 | Portugal | 81 |
NOTE: The totals in the above tables include only points awarded in Eurovision finals, and not the semi-finals since 2004.
| Year | Location | Venue | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Brussels | Centenary Palace | Viktor Lazlo |
Belgium has two broadcast stations VRT (Dutch speaking region) & RTBF (French speaking region). Both broadcast the event and over the years VRT and RTBF commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Nand Baert, Jacques Mercier, Luc Appermont and Paule Herreman. However since the 1991 Contest André Vermeulen has provided the Dutch language commentarty with the exception of the 1996 Contest whilst Jean-Pierre Hautier has provided the french language commentary since the 1994 Contest. In 1962 VRT used the commentary from NOS (The Netherlands broadcast), the reason for that was unknown.
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