Eurovision Song Contest 1956
Country Belgium
National selection
Selection processFinale Nationale du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Europeenne
Selection date(s)15 April 1956
Selected entrantFud Leclerc and
Mony Marc
Selected song"Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" and
"Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie"
Selected songwriter(s)"Messieurs les noyés de la Seine":
  • Jean Miret
  • Jack Say
  • Robert Montal

"Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie":
  • David Bee
  • Claude Alix
Finals performance
Final resultN/A
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
1956 • 1957►

Belgium debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956, held on 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Cursaal in Lugano, Switzerland. The Walloon broadcaster INR organised a national final to determine two Belgian entries for the contest. Held on 15 April 1956, the event saw ten songs compete to be the Belgian entries; the results were determined by the jury panel and postcard voting. The songs "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" by Fud Leclerc and "Le plus beau jour de ma vie" by Mony Marc were selected to represent the nation. Belgian entries performed 3rd and 10th, respectively, out of the 14 entries competing in the contest.

Background

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) was formed in 1950 among 23 organisations with the aim of the exchange of television programmes.[1] Following the formation of the EBU, a number of notable events were transmitted through its networks in various European countries, such as Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. Following this series of transmissions, a "Programme Committee" was set up within the EBU to investigate new initiatives for cooperation between broadcasters. The new European contest, entitled European Grand Prix, was subsequently approved at the EBU's General Assembly in October 1955.[2][3][4] A planning sub-group, was subsequently formed to build out the rules of the competition.[5][6][7] The rules of the contest were finalised and distributed to EBU members in early 1956. Per the rules of the contest, each participating country submitted two songs into the contest.[8] Belgium was subsequently included on the EBU's list of 7 countries that had signed up to partake in the contest. Belgian broadcasters NIR and INR both could have been responsible for the selection of a nation's representatives, however Flemish broadcaster NIR, busy with its participation in the 1956 Venice International Song Festival, let Walloon broadcaster INR alone hold a selection and participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.[9] This marked the beginning of a year-by-year alternation between the Flemish and the Walloon broadcaster in terms of selection and participation in the contest.[9] For the 1956 contest, INR held a national final to choose two nation's representatives.[9]

Before Eurovision

Fud Leclerc (pictured in 1958) was selected along with Mony Marc to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1956

After a public call for submissions, 436 songs reportedly were submitted to INR.[9] Ten songs were then selected by a jury panel, consisting of Angèle Guller, Jaap Streefkerk, Peter Packay and René Hénoumont.[9]

Finale Nationale du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Europeenne

The national final, entitled Finale Nationale du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Europeenne, took place on 15 April 1956.[9] It was broadcast on INR at 20:40 CET and was scheduled to last 80 minutes.[10] It was directed by Bob Jacqmin and possibly hosted by Jacques Goossens.[9][10] Six artists performed the ten songs: Johnny Grey, Denise Lebrun, Fud Leclerc, Mony Marc, Ghislaine Merry and Janine Michel.[9] The competing entries were performed two times, first in an instrumental version, then sung by one of the artists.[9] The artists were accompanied by a small ensemble under the direction of Henri Segers.[9][10] The songs first faced a jury vote where "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" by Fud Leclerc was selected as the first winner.[9] "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" was composed by Jean Miret and Jack Say, with lyrics by Robert Montal.[9] From the remaining nine entries, television viewers chose the second winner by postcard voting: "Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie", composed by David Bee, written by Claude Alix, and performed by Mony Marc was selected as the second Belgian entry.[9]

At Eurovision

Eurovision Song Contest 1956 took place at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, on 24 May 1956. "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" was performed 3rd at the contest and "Le Plus Beau Jour de ma vie" was performed 10th. Both of the Belgian entries were conducted at the contest by the composer Léo Souris. The full results of the contest were not revealed and have not been retained by the EBU. Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was televised in Belgium on INR and NIR.[11] Following the Eurovision Song Contest, "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" was accused of plagiarism from the song "Le Noyé assassiné" by Philippe Clay, by the Belgian songwriters and the author's organisation SABAM.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Staff (17 May 2005). "Singing out loud and proud". Bristol Evening Post. Daily Mail and General Trust.
  2. ↑ Jaquin, Patrick (1 December 2004). "Eurovision's Golden Jubilee". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 August 2004. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  3. ↑ O'Connor, John Kennedy (2010). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History (2nd ed.). London: Carlton Books. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-1-84732-521-1.
  4. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (19 October 2015). "A diamond day for the Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (2012). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Vol. One: The 1950s and 1960s. Prestatyn: Telos Publishing. pp. 93–96. ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
  6. ↑ Zwart, Josianne (4 November 2017). "A decade of song: Eurovision winners through the years (1956–1959)". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "'Made in Italy': How Eurovision almost ended up in Venice annually!". European Broadcasting Union. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Reglement du Grand Prix Eurovision 1956 de la Chanson Européenne (version définitive)" [Rules of the Grand Prix of the Eurovision Song Competition 1956 (final version)] (PDF) (in French). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong: 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival (in Dutch). Tielt: Kritak. pp. 10–13. ISBN 978-94-0147-609-6. OCLC 1281873016.
  10. 1 2 3 Hendrickx, Jonathan; van Biesen, Jasper (2021). 65 jaar België op het Songfestival (in Dutch). Mechelen: Baeckens. p. 14. ISBN 978-90-5924-939-4. OCLC 1256401439.
  11. ↑ "Wegwijs in de Aether". Limburgsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 23 May 1956. p. 9. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.