Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
| Eurovision Song Contest 1998 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Belgium | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 13 March 1998 | |||
| Selected entrant | Mélanie Cohl | |||
| Selected song | "Dis oui" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Philippe Swan | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 6th, 122 points | |||
| Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Dis oui" written by Philippe Swan. The song was performed by Mélanie Cohl. The Walloon broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 1997 as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding four contests. The Belgian entry for the 1998 contest in Birmingham, United Kingdom was selected through the national final Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998, organised by RTBF. In the final on 13 March 1998 which featured ten competing entries, "Dis oui" performed by Mélanie Cohl was selected as the winner solely by public televoting, receiving 15,424 votes.
Belgium competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 9 May 1998. Performing during the show in position 20, Belgium placed sixth out of the 25 participating countries, scoring 122 points.
Background[edit]
Prior to the 1998 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty 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. In 1996, Lisa del Bo represented the country with the song "Liefde is een kaartspel" and placed sixteenth.
The Belgian broadcaster for the 1998 contest, who broadcast the event in Belgium and organised the selection process for its entry, was Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF). The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: the Flemish Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) and the Walloon RTBF. Both broadcasters have selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. In 1995 and 1996, both VRT and RTBF organised a national final to select the Belgian entry. RTBF held a national final to select their entry for the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest.[2]
Before Eurovision[edit]
Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998[edit]
Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. A submission period was opened for artists and songwriters to submit their entries, and the ten acts selected for the competition by a committee chaired by Head of the RTBF variety and entertainment department Pierre Meyer from 128 received during the submission period were announced on 12 December 1997.[3] The final took place on 13 March 1998 at the RTBF Studio 6 in Brussels, hosted by Jean-Pierre Hautier and broadcast on La Une.[4] The winner, "Dis oui" performed by Mélanie Cohl, was selected solely by public televoting with the results being revealed by Belgium's six regions: four Walloon provinces with votes from Namur and Luxembourg being combined, a Rest of Belgium region covering the five Flemish provinces, and Brussels.[5][6]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexis | "Rien qu'une passagère" | Jacques Broun, Alexis Vanderheyden | 2,661 | 5 |
| 2 | Betty | "Ferme la porte à tes larmes" | Pierre Theunis | 1,761 | 7 |
| 3 | Valérie Buggea | "Dans quel monde" | Daniel Willem, Joseph Reynaerts, Damir Ceric | 1,131 | 10 |
| 4 | Curt Close | "Ton image" | Curt Close | 2,503 | 6 |
| 5 | Mélanie Cohl | "Dis oui" | Philippe Swan | 15,424 | 1 |
| 6 | Alain Colard and Sabrine | "Pour t'entendre encore" | Alain Colard | 2,700 | 4 |
| 7 | Maira | "Ma séduction" | Christian Vidal, Wota, M. Pools | 1,217 | 9 |
| 8 | Les Mas | "Ils sont là" | Asukulu Yunu Mukalay | 11,021 | 2 |
| 9 | Dida Robbert | "Tant besoin de toi" | Luc Mourinet | 1,227 | 8 |
| 10 | Manon Selyn | "Tu es libre" | Martine Cugnon, Adelin Deltenre | 4,831 | 3 |
| Draw | Song | Walloon Brabant |
Hainaut | Namur and Luxembourg |
Liège | Rest of Belgium |
Brussels | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Rien qu'une passagère" | 53 | 147 | 159 | 2,008 | 112 | 182 | 2,661 |
| 2 | "Ferme la porte à tes larmes" | 75 | 434 | 216 | 650 | 121 | 265 | 1,761 |
| 3 | "Dans quel monde" | 103 | 128 | 80 | 459 | 151 | 210 | 1,131 |
| 4 | "Ton image" | 159 | 378 | 229 | 704 | 450 | 583 | 2,503 |
| 5 | "Dis oui" | 1,002 | 5,281 | 1,690 | 2,228 | 2,565 | 2,658 | 15,424 |
| 6 | "Pour t'entendre encore" | 229 | 546 | 375 | 434 | 290 | 756 | 2,700 |
| 7 | "Ma séduction" | 69 | 219 | 147 | 404 | 174 | 204 | 1,217 |
| 8 | "Ils sont là" | 942 | 3,851 | 1,211 | 1,443 | 1,303 | 2,271 | 11,021 |
| 9 | "Tant besoin de toi" | 79 | 217 | 129 | 152 | 190 | 460 | 1,227 |
| 10 | "Tu es libre" | 326 | 896 | 1,054 | 727 | 540 | 1,288 | 4,831 |
At Eurovision[edit]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the eight countries which had obtained the lowest average number of points over the last five contests competed in the final on 9 May 1998. On 13 November 1997, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Belgium was set to perform in position 20, following the entry from Sweden and before the entry from Finland.[7][8] The day before the contest, Belgium was considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the competition, featuring alongside the entries from United Kingdom, Sweden, Malta and the Netherlands.[9] Belgium finished in sixth place with 122 points.[10]
The contest was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the show on TV1 and Radio 2 with commentary in Dutch by André Vermeulen and Andrea Croonenberghs.[11][12][13] RTBF televised the show on La Une with commentary in French by Jean-Pierre Hautier.[11][14] The Belgian spokesperson, who announced the results of the Belgian televote during the final, was Marie-Hélène Vanderborght.
Voting[edit]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to the Netherlands in the contest.
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References[edit]
- ^ "Belgium Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "Belgium 1998". The Eurovision Database. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "FRANCE 3". Le Soir (in French). 12 December 1997. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Belgian Selection 1998". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Mélanie Cohl représentera la Belgique à l'Eurovision". Le Soir (in French). 16 March 1998. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ Chris, Vandenabeele. "The Belgian Preselection 1998". Belgian Eurovision Union. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "Birmingham to stage Eurovision". The Irish Times. 9 August 1997. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
- ^ Jones, David (13 November 1997). Eurovision Song Contest winner Katrina and compere Terry Wogan[...]. Birmingham, United Kingdom: Alamy. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "The bookies' favourites". BBC News. 8 May 1998. Archived from the original on 1 November 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Radio en televisie" [Radio and television]. Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 9 May 1998. p. 8. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ Smolders, Thomas (8 April 2014). "VRT schuift André Vermeulen opzij bij Eurovisiesongfestival" [VRT pushes André Vermeulen aside at the Eurovision Song Contest]. De Morgen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Teletekst ondertitelt inzendingen" [Teletext will subtitle the entries]. De Morgen (in Dutch). 9 May 1998. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ Busa, Alexandru (12 October 2012). "Jean-Pierre Hautier dies at the age of 56". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.