Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999
| Eurovision Song Contest 1999 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Belgium | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Eurosong '99 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals: 7 February 1999 14 February 1999 21 February 1999 Final 28 February 1999 | |||
| Selected entrant | Vanessa Chinitor | |||
| Selected song | "Like the Wind" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 12th, 38 points | |||
| Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Belgium competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 29 May 1999. Performing during the show in position 2, Belgium placed twelfth out of the 23 participating countries, scoring 38 points.
Background
Prior to the 1999 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-one 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 1998, Mélanie Cohl represented the country with the song "Dis oui" and placed sixth.
The Belgian broadcaster for the 1999 contest, who broadcasts the event in Belgium and organises the selection process for its entry, was
Before Eurovision
Eurosong '99
Eurosong '99 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1999. The competition consisted of four shows that commenced on 7 February 1999 and concluded with a final on 28 February 1999 where the winning song and artist were selected. All shows took place at the Studio 100 in
Format
Twenty-five entries were selected to compete in Eurosong, of which 21 competed in three semi-finals that took place on 7, 14 and 21 February 1999 with each show featuring seven entries. The winner of each semi-final qualified to the final and the highest scoring second placed act in the semi-finals was also selected to advance. The final took place on 28 February 1999 where the four semi-final qualifiers were joined by the remaining four entries that were automatically qualified for the final and the winner was chosen. The results of all shows were determined by an expert jury, an international jury consisting of European expats living in Belgium and public televoting on
During each of the five shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists and selected entries to advance in the competition. These experts were:
- Liliane Saint-Pierre – singer, represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987
- Anja Daems – Radio 2 presenter
- Marcel Vanthilt – singer and television presenter
Competing entries
A submission period was opened on 1 November 1998 for artists and songwriters to submit their entries until 15 December 1998. Twenty-one entries were selected from 199 received during the submission period, while VRT also directly invited four composers to each submit a song which would directly qualify for the final: Marc Paelinck, Marc Vanhie, Miguel Wiels and Stefan Wuyts. The twenty-five acts selected for the competition were announced on 12 January 1999.[6]
| Artist | Song | Composer(s) | Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alana Dante | "Get Ready for the Sunsand" | Peter Neefs | Open submission |
| Belle Perez | "Hello World" | Maribel Pérez, Patrick Renier, Jim Soulier | |
| Bjorn and Joeri | "Je doet wat je doet" | Johan de Backer | |
| Davy Gilles | "Waar ben jij" | Davy Gilles | |
| Dominic | "Tonight Is the Night" | Phil Francins, Luc Smets | |
| Fé | "Love Me" | A. Larson, Alain Vande Putte, Filip Martens | |
| Frank Galan | "Dame tu vida" | Luigi Bongiovani, Alexander Pascal, Christille Verstraete, Frank Galan | |
K3
|
"Heyah Mama!" | Miguel Wiels, Alain Vande Putte, Peter Gillis | |
| Laurena | "Diamond in Heaven" | Peter Keereman | |
| Margriet Hermans | "Ik vaar met je mee" | Margriet Hermans, Luigi Bongiovani | |
| Martine Foubert | "Come to Me" | Marc Paelinck | |
| Matadi | "Wo-Y-Yè" | Jacky De Munck | |
| Matiz | "Negentien" | Marc Corrijn, Koen de Beir | |
| Medusa | "Into My Life" | Stefan Wuyts | Invited by VRT |
| Nadia | "I'm in Heaven" | Mike Egan, Paul Vermeulen, Lou Roman | Open submission |
| Natural High | "Finally" | Marc Paelinck | Invited by VRT |
| Petra | "Diep in mijn huid" | Miguel Wiels, Alain Vande Putte, Peter Gillis | |
| Piece of Cake | "Do It Again" | Collin Pildidch, Luc Smets | Open submission |
| Ricky Fleming | "Door jou" | Patrick Feustel, Wim Claes | |
| Sarah | "He's the One" | Mark Vanhie | Invited by VRT |
| Splinter | "Als schepen verwelken" | Hedwig Demesmaeker, Frank Truyen | Open submission |
| Vanessa Chinitor | "Like the Wind" | Ilia Beyers, John Terra, Emma Philippa-Hjälmås, Wim Claes | |
| Voice Male | "This Is My Life" | Marc Paelinck | |
| Wendy Fierce | "Never Give Up" | Fonny Dewulf | |
| Yves Segers | "Recht vooruit" | Yves Segers |
Shows
Semi-finals
The four semi-finals took place on 7, 14 and 21 February 1999. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from three televoting groups and two jury groups determined the winner that qualified to the final. The highest scoring second placed act in the semi-finals, "This Is My Life" performed by Voice Male, also proceeded to the final.[7]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Splinter | "Als schepen verwelken" | 12 | 6 | 18 | 5 |
| 2 | Fé | "Love Me" | 6 | 21 | 27 | 2 |
| 3 | Piece of Cake | "Do It Again" | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| 4 | Belle Perez | "Hello World" | 12 | 15 | 27 | 2 |
| 5 | Matadi | "Wo-Y-Yè" | 4 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
| 6 | Vanessa Chinitor | "Like the Wind" | 18 | 18 | 36 | 1 |
| 7 | Margriet Hermans | "Ik vaar met je mee" | 4 | 19 | 23 | 4 |
|
|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bjorn and Joeri | "Je doet wat je doet" | 6 | 8 | 14 | 6 |
| 2 | Laurena | "Diamond in Heaven" | 7 | 10 | 17 | 4 |
| 3 | Matiz | "Negentien" | 10 | 9 | 19 | 3 |
| 4 | Voice Male | "This Is My Life" | 11 | 21 | 32 | 2 |
| 5 | Davy Gilles | "Waar ben jij" | 6 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| 6 | Wendy Fierce | "Never Give Up" | 18 | 27 | 45 | 1 |
| 7 | Frank Galan | "Dame tu vida" | 4 | 11 | 15 | 5 |
|
|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martine Foubert | "Come to Me" | 18 | 12 | 30 | 2 |
| 2 | Yves Segers | "Recht vooruit" | 5 | 10 | 15 | 6 |
| 3 | Alana Dante | "Get Ready for the Sunsand" | 9 | 23 | 32 | 1 |
| 4 | Nadia | "I'm in Heaven" | 11 | 12 | 23 | 4 |
| 5 | Ricky Fleming | "Door jou" | 3 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| 6 | Dominic | "Tonight Is the Night" | 12 | 13 | 25 | 3 |
| 7 | K3
|
"Heyah Mama!" | 4 | 14 | 18 | 5 |
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Final
The final took place on 28 February 1999 where the four entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and the four pre-qualified entries competed. The winner, "Like the Wind" performed by Vanessa Chinitor, was selected by the combination of results from three televoting groups and two jury groups.[8][9] "Like the Wind" received over 100,000 of the 242,000 registered televotes.[4]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wendy Fierce | "Never Give Up" | 9 | 22 | 31 | 2 |
| 2 | Natural High | "Finally" | 5 | 8 | 13 | 7 |
| 3 | Voice Male | "This Is My Life" | 8 | 16 | 24 | 5 |
| 4 | Medusa | "Into My Life" | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| 5 | Alana Dante | "Get Ready for the Sunsand" | 13 | 17 | 30 | 3 |
| 6 | Petra | "Diep in mijn huid" | 9 | 7 | 16 | 6 |
| 7 | Vanessa Chinitor | "Like the Wind" | 20 | 26 | 46 | 1 |
| 8 | Sarah | "He's the One" | 12 | 15 | 27 | 4 |
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|
Ratings
| Show | Date | Viewers | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-final 1 (Part 1) | 7 February 1999 | 985,800 | [4] |
| Semi-final 1 (Part 2) | — | ||
| Semi-final 2 (Part 1) | 14 February 1999 | 1,062,700 | |
| Semi-final 2 (Part 2) | 1,090,200 | ||
| Semi-final 3 (Part 1) | 21 February 1999 | 1,150,400 | |
| Semi-final 3 (Part 2) | 1,131,700 | ||
| Final (Part 1) | 28 February 1999 | 1,347,300 | |
| Final (Part 2) | 1,577,500 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 1999 took place at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Israel, on 29 May 1999. According to the Eurovision rules, the 23-country participant list for the contest was composed of: the previous year's winning country and host nation, the seventeen countries which had obtained the highest average points total over the preceding five contests, and any eligible countries which did not compete in the 1998 contest. On 17 November 1998, an allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Belgium was set to perform in position 2, following the entry from Lithuania and before the entry from Spain.[10][11] Belgium finished in twelfth place with 38 points.[12]
The contest was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the show on
Voting
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
- ^ "Belgium Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "Bart Peeters Concert Setlists (page 56)". setlist.fm. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Alan Stewart Productions" (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Eurosong 1999". Songfestival.be.
- ^ "1999: Radio betrokken bij Songfestival (video)". RadioVisie (in Dutch). 8 January 1999. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "VRT breekt met Eurosong-verleden". De Morgen (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Eurosong 1999 • semi-finals". 4lyrics.
- ^ "Belgium: Eurosong '99". Eurovisionworld. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Belgium 1999". laescena. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ "Rules of the 44th Eurovision Song Contest, 1999" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "44th Eurovision Song Contest" (in French and English). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 7 March 2001. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Final of Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ "Radio en televisie" [Radio and television]. Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). 29 May 1999. p. 38. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ "VRT zet grote kanonnen in" [VRT deploy the big guns]. De Standaard (in Dutch). 17 April 2002. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Eurosong haalt recordcijfers". De Morgen (in Dutch). 28 May 2002. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ 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 Jerusalem 1999". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.