| Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest 2018 | ||||
| Participating broadcaster | Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) | |||
| Country |  Belgium | |||
| Selection process | Internal selection | |||
| Announcement date | Artist: 28 September 2017 Song: 5 March 2018 | |||
| Competing entry | ||||
| Song | "A Matter of Time" | |||
| Artist | Sennek | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Placement | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (12th) | |||
| Participation chronology | ||||
| ||||
Belgium was represented at theEurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "A Matter of Time", written byLaura Groeseneken,Alex Callier, and Maxime Tribeche, and performed by Groeseneken herself under her stage name Sennek. The Belgian participating broadcaster, FlemishVlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT), internally selected its entry for the contest. The artist was announced on 28 September 2017, and the song was presented to the public on 5 March 2018.
Belgium was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 8 May 2018. Performing during the show in position 4, "A Matter of Time" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth out of the 19 participating countries in the semi-final with 91 points.
Prior to the 2018 contest, Belgium had participated in theEurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in1956.[1] Since then, they have won the contest on one occasionin 1986 with the song "J'aime la vie", performed bySandra Kim. Following theintroduction of semi-finals for the2004 contest, Belgium had been featured in only six finals. In2017, "City Lights" byBlanche, qualified to the final and placed fourth.
The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: FlemishVlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) and WalloonRadio-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. In2016, VRT organised the national finalEurosong in order to select the Belgian entry, while in 2017, RTBF internally selected a contestant from the reality singing competitionThe Voice Belgique to represent the nation. On 9 May 2017, VRT confirmed its participation in the 2018 contest and internally selected both the artist and song.[2]
The Belgian entry for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest was selected via an internal selection by VRT. On 14 September 2017, the broadcaster's spokesperson Hans Van Goethem revealed that the artist would be selected by an A&R Team (Arts and Repertoire) consisting of music experts following conversations with several acts and that they were close to reaching a decision.[3] On 28 September 2017, it was announced during theÉén talk showVan Gils & Gasten thatLaura Groeseneken (Sennek) would represent Belgium in Lisbon.[4][5] Among artists that were previously rumoured to be selected for the competition includedBelle Perez, De Romeo's, Isabelle A,Kate Ryan –who representedBelgium in 2006–,Natalia, andOzark Henry.[6] On 24 January 2018, Sennek revealed that the song she would perform at the contest, which she described as a "unique pop song with a mysterious feeling", was written and composed by herself.[7]
The song, "A Matter of Time", was set to be presented to the public on 6 March 2018 during the radioMNM programmeDe Grote Peter Van de Veire Ochtendshow, however it was released on 5 March 2018 following an online leak.[8][9][10] The song was written by Sennek herself along with member of the bandHooverphonic,Alex Callier, and Maxime Tribeche. In regards to the song, Sennek stated: "The song describes the way you can find beauty in transience, how you can see the beauty in something precious that gets broken."[11]
Sennek made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "A Matter of Time" as the Belgian Eurovision entry. Between 8 and 11 April, Sennek took part in promotional activities inTel Aviv, Israel and performed during theIsrael Calling event held at theRabin Square.[12] On 14 April, Sennek performed during theEurovision in Concert event which was held at theAFAS Live venue inAmsterdam, Netherlands and hosted byEdsilia Rombley andCornald Maas.[13] On 21 April, Sennek performed during theESPreParty event which was held at the Sala La Riviera venue inMadrid, Spain and hosted bySoraya Arnelas.[14]
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. TheEuropean Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 29 January 2018, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Belgium was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 8 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[15]
Once all the competing songs for the 2018 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Belgium was set to perform in position 4, following the entry fromAlbania and before the entry from theCzech Republic.[16]
The two semi-finals and the final was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the shows onéén with commentary in Dutch byPeter Van de Veire.[17] RTBF televised the shows onLa Une with commentary in French by Jean-Louis Lahaye andMaureen Louys; the second semi-final aired on a 90-minute delay on La Une.[18] The Belgian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Belgian jury during the final, wasDanira Boukhriss.
Sennek took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 3 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 7 and 8 May. This included the jury show on 7 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[19]
The Belgian performance featured Sennek in a black transparent dress designed byVeronique Branquinho and performing on the outer ring of the stage.[20] The performance began with a small panel of light that focused on Sennek's hands as she moved to reveal her eyes, while the stage remained dark throughout the song.[21][22] The Belgian performance was directed by Hans Pannecoucke.[23] Three off-stage backing vocalists joined Sennek during the performance: Monique Harcum, Nina Babet andStef Caers, the latter of whom would go on to representBelgium in 2023 under his stage name Gustaph.[24]
At the end of the show, Belgium was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 91 points: 20 points from the televoting and 71 points from the juries.[25]
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
| Score | Televote | Jury |
|---|---|---|
| 12 points |  Bulgaria | |
| 10 points | ||
| 8 points |  Lithuania | Lithuania |
| 7 points |  Austria | |
| 6 points |  Armenia | |
| 5 points |  Finland | |
| 4 points | ||
| 3 points | ||
| 2 points | ||
| 1 point |  Croatia |
|
|
The following members comprised the Belgian jury:[28]
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. V. Veken | L. Tesoro | T. Dice | B. Savenberg | N. Delporte | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Azerbaijan | 8 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | ||
| 02 |  Iceland | 10 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 15 | |
| 03 |  Albania | 12 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 11 | |
| 04 | Belgium | |||||||||
| 05 |  Czech Republic | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 8 |
| 06 | Lithuania | 14 | 13 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 4 | |
| 07 |  Israel | 5 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
| 08 |  Belarus | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | ||
| 09 |  Estonia | 11 | 15 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 5 | |
| 10 | Bulgaria | 9 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 12 | |
| 11 |  Macedonia | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | ||
| 12 | Croatia | 15 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 17 | ||
| 13 | Austria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 10 |
| 14 |  Greece | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 10 | 1 | |
| 15 | Finland | 13 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 2 | |
| 16 | Armenia | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 17 |  Switzerland | 2 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 | |
| 18 |  Ireland | 6 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 12 |
| 19 |  Cyprus | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Draw | Country | Jury | Televote | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W. V. Veken | L. Tesoro | T. Dice | B. Savenberg | N. Delporte | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | ||
| 01 |  Ukraine | 20 | 23 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 24 | 24 | ||
| 02 |  Spain | 9 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 19 | |
| 03 |  Slovenia | 25 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 25 | ||
| 04 | Lithuania | 10 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 11 | ||
| 05 | Austria | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 3 |
| 06 | Estonia | 13 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 12 | ||
| 07 |  Norway | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 08 |  Portugal | 18 | 15 | 26 | 20 | 11 | 17 | 17 | ||
| 09 |  United Kingdom | 19 | 19 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 18 | ||
| 10 |  Serbia | 22 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 26 | ||
| 11 |  Germany | 6 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 12 | Albania | 11 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 13 | |
| 13 |  France | 23 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 14 | Czech Republic | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 |
| 15 |  Denmark | 12 | 9 | 21 | 22 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | |
| 16 |  Australia | 16 | 20 | 15 | 26 | 25 | 21 | 21 | ||
| 17 | Finland | 15 | 24 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 20 | 23 | ||
| 18 | Bulgaria | 17 | 12 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 16 | ||
| 19 |  Moldova | 26 | 25 | 24 | 17 | 14 | 22 | 15 | ||
| 20 |  Sweden | 7 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 22 | |
| 21 |  Hungary | 21 | 26 | 16 | 11 | 24 | 19 | 20 | ||
| 22 | Israel | 5 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| 23 |  Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 12 |
| 24 | Ireland | 8 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 4 | |
| 25 | Cyprus | 2 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| 26 |  Italy | 24 | 17 | 23 | 24 | 16 | 23 | 5 | 6 | |