Eurovision Song Contest 1983
Country Belgium
National selection
Selection processEurosong
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
19 February 1983
26 February 1983
5 March 1983
Final
19 March 1983
Selected entrantPas de Deux
Selected song"Rendez-vous"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Walter Verdin
  • Paul Peyskens
Finals performance
Final result18th, 13 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1982 • 1983 • 1984►

Belgium was represented by Pas de Deux, with the song "Rendez-vous", at the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Munich on 30 April. The 1983 preselection has gone down as the most controversial in Belgian Eurovision history due to the extreme hostility shown by the audience towards Pas de Deux's victory.

Before Eurovision

Eurosong

The selection consisted of three semi-finals, followed by the final on 19 March 1983. All the shows were hosted by Luc Appermont and took place at the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels.

Semi-finals

Three semi-finals were held to select the nine songs for the Belgian final. Nine acts had been invited to participate, and each performed three songs with an expert jury choosing the best song from each act to go forward to the final. There was one semi-final each for male singers, female singers and groups.[1]

Semi-final 1 (Female singers) – 19 February 1983
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Yvette Ravel "Als je droomt van liefde" Advanced
2 Yvette Ravel "Herinneringen" Eliminated
3 Yvette Ravel "Niemand weet" Eliminated
4 Marina Marcia "Love, Liebe" Eliminated
5 Marina Marcia "Goodbye to Love" Eliminated
6 Marina Marcia "Tic-Tac" Advanced
7 Sofie "Zondagochtend" Eliminated
8 Sofie "Nummer één" Advanced
9 Sofie "Ik wil enkel van je houden" Eliminated
Semi-final 2 (Male singers) – 26 February 1983
Draw Artist Song Place
1 Gene Summer "Verliefd op twee" Eliminated
2 Gene Summer "Vlaanderen" Eliminated
3 Gene Summer "Zonder wikken en wegen" Advanced
4 Bart Kaëll "Stop" Eliminated
5 Bart Kaëll "Symphonie" Advanced
6 Bart Kaëll "Primaballerina" Eliminated
7 Wim De Craene "Gisteren" Eliminated
8 Wim De Craene "Kristien" Advanced
9 Wim De Craene "Het exuberante leven van Leentje de Vries" Eliminated
Semi-final 3 (Groups) – 5 March 1983
Draw Artist Song Place
1 Venus "Addio Addio" Eliminated
2 Venus "Bye Bye Scoubidou" Advanced
3 Venus "Boemerang" Eliminated
4 Espresso "Rij je mee?" Eliminated
5 Espresso "Het regent" Eliminated
6 Espresso "Love" Advanced
7 Pas de Deux "Hartedief - Cardio Cleptomanie" Eliminated
8 Pas de Deux "Rendez-vous" Advanced
9 Pas de Deux "Celo" Eliminated

Final

The national final was held on 19 March 1983 with nine songs competing. Voting was by an expert jury of eight members, who each ranked their top four songs and awarded them 10, 7, 5 and 1 point(s). Pas de Deux were the runaway winners, being placed first by six of the eight jury members[2] The audience in the theatre appeared to be rooting for a Bart Kaëll win, and as it became obvious midway through the voting that Pas de Deux were heading for a clear victory, pandemonium ensued, with each voting announcement being greeted with jeers, whistles and catcalls. Many walked out in disgust before the end of the transmission and Pas de Deux (who seemed to find the audience reaction amusing rather than upsetting) reprised their winning song to a half-empty house, having to compete against a chorus of jeers and booing.

Final – 19 March 1983
Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 Venus "Bye Bye Scoubidou" 1 7
2 Gene Summer "Zonder wikken en wegen" 2 6
3 Yvette Ravel "Als je droomt van liefde" 6 5
4 Espresso "Love" 1 7
5 Marina Marcia "Tic-Tac" 1 7
6 Bart Kaëll "Symfonie" 32 4
7 Pas de Deux "Rendez-vous" 67 1
8 Sofie "Nummer één" 40 2
9 Wim De Craene "Kristien" 34 3

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Pas de Deux performed 19th in the running order, following Austria and preceding the eventual winner Luxembourg. At the close of the voting "Rendez-vous" had received only 13 votes (8 from Spain, 4 from the United Kingdom and 1 from Portugal), placing Belgium 18th of the 20 entries, ahead only of the nul-points Spanish and Turkish entries. The Belgian jury awarded its 12 points to Yugoslavia.[3]

Voting

References

  1. ↑ ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1983 semi-finals
  2. ↑ ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1983 final
  3. ↑ ESC History - Belgium 1983
  4. 1 2 "Results of the Final of Munich 1983". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
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