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.
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 Eurovisionedit
Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998edit
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]
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.
Votingedit
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.
^"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.
^. Le Soir (in French). 16 March 1998. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
^Chris, Vandenabeele. . Belgian Eurovision Union. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
^"Birmingham to stage Eurovision". The Irish Times. 9 August 1997. 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. from the original on 1 November 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
^"Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
^ ab"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. from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
^ ab"Results of the Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
External linksedit
April 09, 2024
belgium, eurovision, song, contest, 1998, belgium, participated, eurovision, song, contest, 1998, with, song, written, philippe, swan, song, performed, mélanie, cohl, walloon, broadcaster, radio, télévision, belge, communauté, française, rtbf, returned, eurovi. Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song Dis oui written by Philippe Swan The song was performed by Melanie Cohl The Walloon broadcaster Radio Television Belge de la Communaute Francaise 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 Melanie Cohl was selected as the winner solely by public televoting receiving 15 424 votes Eurovision Song Contest 1998Country BelgiumNational selectionSelection processFinale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998Selection date s 13 March 1998Selected entrantMelanie CohlSelected song Dis oui Selected songwriter s Philippe SwanFinals performanceFinal result6th 122 pointsBelgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 1998 1999 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 Contents 1 Background 2 Before Eurovision 2 1 Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 3 At Eurovision 3 1 Voting 4 References 5 External linksBackground editMain article Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 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 Television Belge de la Communaute Francaise 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 editFinale 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 Melanie 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 Final 13 March 1998 Draw Artist Song Songwriter s Televote Place1 Alexis Rien qu une passagere Jacques Broun Alexis Vanderheyden 2 661 52 Betty Ferme la porte a tes larmes Pierre Theunis 1 761 73 Valerie Buggea Dans quel monde Daniel Willem Joseph Reynaerts Damir Ceric 1 131 104 Curt Close Ton image Curt Close 2 503 65 Melanie Cohl Dis oui Philippe Swan 15 424 16 Alain Colard and Sabrine Pour t entendre encore Alain Colard 2 700 47 Maira Ma seduction Christian Vidal Wota M Pools 1 217 98 Les Mas Ils sont la Asukulu Yunu Mukalay 11 021 29 Dida Robbert Tant besoin de toi Luc Mourinet 1 227 810 Manon Selyn Tu es libre Martine Cugnon Adelin Deltenre 4 831 3Detailed Regional Televoting Results Draw Song WalloonBrabant Hainaut Namur andLuxembourg Liege Rest ofBelgium Brussels Total1 Rien qu une passagere 53 147 159 2 008 112 182 2 6612 Ferme la porte a tes larmes 75 434 216 650 121 265 1 7613 Dans quel monde 103 128 80 459 151 210 1 1314 Ton image 159 378 229 704 450 583 2 5035 Dis oui 1 002 5 281 1 690 2 228 2 565 2 658 15 4246 Pour t entendre encore 229 546 375 434 290 756 2 7007 Ma seduction 69 219 147 404 174 204 1 2178 Ils sont la 942 3 851 1 211 1 443 1 303 2 271 11 0219 Tant besoin de toi 79 217 129 152 190 460 1 22710 Tu es libre 326 896 1 054 727 540 1 288 4 831At Eurovision editAccording 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 Andre 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 Helene Vanderborght Voting editBelow 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 Points awarded to Belgium 15 Score Country12 points nbsp Poland10 points nbsp Netherlands8 points nbsp Portugal7 points nbsp France nbsp Ireland nbsp Norway nbsp Slovakia nbsp Spain nbsp United Kingdom6 points nbsp Cyprus nbsp Estonia nbsp Macedonia nbsp Slovenia5 points nbsp Israel4 points nbsp Germany nbsp Greece nbsp Switzerland3 points nbsp Hungary nbsp Malta2 points nbsp Sweden1 point nbsp Turkey Points awarded by Belgium 15 Score Country12 points nbsp Netherlands10 points nbsp Israel8 points nbsp Malta7 points nbsp Germany6 points nbsp United Kingdom5 points nbsp Croatia4 points nbsp Norway3 points nbsp Spain2 points nbsp Cyprus1 point nbsp PortugalReferences 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 Melanie Cohl representera la Belgique a 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 Andre Vermeulen opzij bij Eurovisiesongfestival VRT pushes Andre 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 External links editBelgian National Final page Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 amp oldid 1214059413, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
