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Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Dis oui", written by Philippe Swan, and performed by Mélanie Cohl. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Walloon Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF), selected its entry through a national final. The entry placed sixth out of the 25 entries, scoring 122 points.

Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Participating broadcasterRadio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF)
Country Belgium
National selection
Selection processFinale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998
Selection date(s)13 March 1998
Selected artist(s)Mélanie Cohl
Selected song"Dis oui"
Selected songwriter(s)Philippe Swan
Finals performance
Final result6th, 122 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1996 • 1998 • 1999►

Background

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Main 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, they have won the contest on one occasion in 1986 with the song "J'aime la vie", performed by Sandra Kim. In 1996, the latest Belgian entry, "Liefde is een kaartspel" by Lisa del Bo placed sixteenth.

The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: Flemish Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) and Walloon Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF) at the time, with both broadcasters sharing the broadcasting rights. Both broadcasters –and their predecessors– had selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. RTBF had the turn to participate in 1998. The broadcaster returned to the contest after a two-year absence following Belgium's relegation from 1997 as one of the six countries with the least average points over the preceding four contests. RTBF selected its entry for the 1998 contest through the national final Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998.[2]

Before Eurovision

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Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998

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Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 1998 was the national final organised by RTBF to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. 128 entries were received for the competition following a submission period, from which ten acts were selected by a committee chaired by Head of the RTBF variety and entertainment department Pierre Meyer and announced on 12 December 1997.[3] The national final was broadcast live at 20:20 CET on 13 March 1998 on La Une from Studio 6 in the RTBF Studios in Brussels and was hosted by Jean-Pierre Hautier.[4][5] 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 provinces in Wallonia with votes from Namur and Luxembourg being combined, a "Rest of Belgium" region made up of votes from Flanders, and Brussels.[6][7][8]

Final – 13 March 1998
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
Detailed Regional Televoting Results
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

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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.[9][10] The day before the contest, Belgium was considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the competition, featuring alongside the entries from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Malta, and the Netherlands.[11] Belgium finished in sixth place with 122 points.[12]

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.[13][14][15] RTBF televised the show on La Une with commentary in French by Jean-Pierre Hautier.[13][16] RTBF appointed Marie-Hélène Vanderborght as its spokesperson to announce the results of the Belgian televote during the final.

Voting

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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.

References

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  1. ^ "Belgium Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Belgium 1998". The Eurovision Database. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  3. ^ "FRANCE 3". Le Soir (in French). 12 December 1997. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Belgian Selection 1998". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ "La Une". Revue. 4 March 1998. p. 129.
  6. ^ "Mélanie Cohl représentera la Belgique à l'Eurovision". Le Soir (in French). 16 March 1998. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  7. ^ Chris, Vandenabeele. "The Belgian Preselection 1998". Belgian Eurovision Union. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  8. ^ Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. Leuven: Kritak. ISBN 978-94-014-7609-6. OCLC 1240241113.
  9. ^ "Birmingham to stage Eurovision". The Irish Times. 9 August 1997. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  10. ^ Jones, David (13 November 1997). Eurovision Song Contest winner Katrina and compere Terry Wogan[...]. Birmingham, United Kingdom: Alamy. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
  11. ^ "The bookies' favourites". BBC News. 8 May 1998. Archived from the original on 1 November 2002. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Radio en televisie" [Radio and television]. Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 9 May 1998. p. 8. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Teletekst ondertitelt inzendingen" [Teletext will subtitle the entries]. De Morgen (in Dutch). 9 May 1998. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Birmingham 1998". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
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