Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1972 with the song "À la folie ou pas du tout", written by Daniel Nélis and Bob Milan, and performed by Serge and Christine Ghisoland. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Walloon Radio-Télévision Belge (RTB), selected its entry through a national final, after having previously selected the performer internally. The Ghisolands had previously participated in the 1970 national final.

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

In October 1971, Walloon broadcaster Radio-Télévision Belge (RTB) announced that they had internally selected Serge and Christine Ghisoland to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972.[1]

Chansons pour l'Eurovision 72

Chansons pour l'Eurovision 72 was the national final format developed by RTB in order to select the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1972. The competition was held on 15 February 1972 and was broadcast on RTB.[2][1]

Competing entries

Following the announcement of the Ghisolands as Belgian representatives, a song submission period was opened where composers were able to submit their songs until 31 December 1971. RTB received 180 submissions and, in collaboration with SABAM, selected four songs from the received songs to participate in the contest.[1]

Several online sources incorrectly state that the national final had 10 songs. This can easily be disproved by newspapers from the time saying the national final had 4 songs,[3] and also that the songs "Marilyn" and "La rose", which are included in that list of 10 songs, were released as a single in 1970, making them ineligible for the Eurovision Song Contest 1972.[4]

Competing entries[2]
Song Songwriter(s)
Composer(s) Lyricist(s)
"À la folie ou pas du tout" Daniel Nélis, Bob Milan Daniel Nélis
"Femme" Serge Ghisoland Pierre Coran [fr]
"Tant que mon coeur" Jean Demison, Willy Baetslé
"Vivre sans toi" Jack Say Jean Miret

Final

The final was broadcast in two parts. The songs were previewed on 28 January 1972, and the public could start sending in postcards. The songs were then shown again on 15 February 1972 and the public could also start televoting. The winner was decided by a combination of the postcard votes and televotes. The final was hosted by Michel Lemaire.[2][1]

Final – 15 February 1972
Draw Song Place
1 "À la folie ou pas du tout" 1
2 "Tant que mon coeur" 3/4
3 "Vivre sans toi" 3/4
4 "Femme" 2

At Eurovision

The contest was broadcast on RTB (with commentary by Paule Herreman) and BRT. It was also broadcast on radio station RTB 1.[5]

On the night of the final the Ghisolands performed 16th in the running order, following Monaco and preceding eventual winner Luxembourg. The song seemed rather quaint and old-fashioned in comparison to many of the year's other entries, and at the close of the voting "À la folie ou pas du tout" had received 55 points, placing Belgium 17th of the 18 entries, ahead only of Malta.[6][7]

Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members, one below the age of 25 and the other above, who voted by giving between one and five points to each song, except that representing their own country. All jury members were colocated in the Grand Hall of Edinburgh Castle.[8] The Belgian jury members were Charles Alboort and Denis Grimée.[9]

Voting

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Eurovision de la Chanson 1972". songfestival.be. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. Leuven: Kritak. ISBN 978-94-014-7609-6. OCLC 1240241113.
  3. ^ "Télévision belge". Luxemburger Wort (in German and French). Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. p. 27. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ^ Ghisoland, Serge; Ghisoland, Christine (1970). La Rose / Marilyn (Vinyl) (in French). Disques Vogue. VB 158.
  5. ^ "Radio– en TV–programma's van zaterdag 25 maart 1972" [Radio and TV programmes of Saturday 25 March 1972]. De Standaard (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium. 25 March 1972. p. 29. Retrieved 11 February 2025 – via BelgicaPress [nl].
  6. ^ "Final of Edinburgh 1972". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  7. ^ ESC History - Belgium 1972
  8. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn, United Kingdom: Telos Publishing. pp. 60, 89. ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
  9. ^ "Vierhonderd miljoen mensen kijken en luisteren mee..." [Four hundred million people are watching and listening...]. De Standaard (in Dutch). Brussels, Belgium. 25 March 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 11 February 2025 – via BelgicaPress [nl].
  10. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Edinburgh 1972". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest_1972
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