Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Belgium | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Selection date(s) | Artist: 1 October 2019 Song: 17 February 2020 | |||
| Selected entrant | Hooverphonic | |||
| Selected song | "Release Me" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Belgium originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Release Me", performed by Hooverphonic. The entry, written by Alex Callier and Luca Chiaravalli, was selected internally by the Flemish broadcaster VRT. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, the contest was cancelled.
Background[]
Prior to the 2020 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 2019, Eliot represented Belgium with the song "Wake Up". The song failed to qualify to the grand final, placing 13th out of 17 entries in its semi final.
The Belgian broadcaster for the 2020 contest, who broadcast the event in Belgium and organise the selection process for its entry, was Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). VRT, along with its Wallonian counterpart Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF), have alternated in selecting the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past.
Before Eurovision[]
Internal selection[]
On 1 October 2019, VRT announced Hooverphonic as the Belgian entrant at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.[2] Their song "Release Me" was released on 17 February 2020 together with the official music video.[3]
At Eurovision[]
The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was due to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with two semi finals on 12 and 14 May and the final on 16 May 2020.[4] Belgium were due to compete in the second half of the first semi final on 12 May.[5] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled.
References[]
- ^ "Belgium Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ Farren, Neil (1 October 2019). "Belgium: Hooverphonic to Eurovision 2020". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ Farren, Neil (17 February 2020). "Belgium: Hooverphonic to Sing "Release Me" at Eurovision 2020". eurovoix.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ "Rotterdam to host Eurovision 2020!". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
- ^ "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final?". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
External links[]
- Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
- Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020
- 2020 in Belgium