Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021
| Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Belgium | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Selection date(s) | Artist: 20 March 2020 Song: TBD | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Hooverphonic | |||
| Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Belgium will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, having internally selected Hooverphonic as their representative. They were due to compete in the 2020 contest with "Release Me" before the event's cancellation.
Background
Prior to the 2021 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 61 times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in 1956.[1] Since then, the country has won the contest on one occasion in 1986 with the song "J'aime la vie" performed by Sandra Kim. Following the introduction of semi-finals for 2004, Belgium had been featured in only six finals. In 2018, Sennek represented the country with the song "A Matter of Time", but failed to qualify for the final, finishing in 12th place.
The Belgian broadcasters for the 2021 Contest, who broadcast the event in Belgium and organise the selection process for its entry, are Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF) and Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). Both broadcasters have selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
On 20 March 2020, VRT and RTBF confirmed that the band Hooverphonic will represent Belgium in the 2021 contest.[2]
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. For the 2021 contest, the semi-final allocation draw held for 2020 which was held on 28 January 2020, will be used for 2021 contest. Belgium was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 18 May 2021, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[3]
References
- ^ "Belgium Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "Hooverphonic will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2021…and with a potentially "up-tempo song"". Wiwibloggs. 20 March 2020.
- ^ Groot, Evert (17 November 2020). "2020 Semi-Final line-up to stay for 2021". eurovision.tv. Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.