Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Participating broadcaster	Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT)
Country	Belgium
National selection
Selection process	Eurosong 1977
Selection date(s)	Semi-finals 15 January 1977 22 January 1977 29 January 1977 Final 5 February 1977
Selected artist(s)	Dream Express
Selected song	"A Million in One, Two, Three"
Selected songwriter(s)	Luc Smets
Finals performance
Final result	7th, 69 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1976 • 1977 • 1978►

Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three", written by Luc Smets, and performed by Dream Express. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

Eurosong 1977

Format

Since the last three winners of the Eurovision Song Contest had been pop songs sung in the English language by a nationally famous group, the Flemish broadcaster Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep (BRT) used this as inspiration for Eurosong 1977. Three pop groups were chosen for Eurosong 1977: Two Man Sound, Trinity, and Dream Express. ^[1]

The original format for the national final involved each group performing one song each. The best song would then be chosen and would be performed by all three groups, whereby the best combination of artist and song would win Eurosong 1977. This was the same as the format used in Nationaal Songfestival 1975, the Dutch national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. However, Dream Express protested this and a new format for Eurosong 1977 was created: Each group received their own programme, where three songs would be presented and two would qualify to the final. In the final, the top song from each group would go to a second round and then the overall winner would be decided. ^[1]

Competing Entries

Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)
Two Man Sound	"Bye Bye Love"	Sylvain Vanholme
	"Dancing Man"	Francis Deprijck, Sylvain Vanholme
	"It's Wonderful"	Sylvaine Vanholme, Penny Els
Dream Express	"A Million in One, Two, Three"	Luc Smets
	"Sold It for a Song"	Luc Smets
	"Spinning Top"	R. Cane
Trinity	"Drop Drop Drop"	Fred Beekmans, Bob Baelemans
	"Go Get Your Mother"	Fred Beekmans, Bob Baelemans, Hans van Hemert
	"Let Your Love Shine On"	Hans van Hemert

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were held in the Amerikaans Theater  [ nl ] in Brussels and were hosted by Luc Appermont. The semi-finals were recorded one week in advance. In each semi-final, the group performed their biggest hits and their three candidate songs, which were voted on by a 192-member jury in the audience. The audience jury was selected from a BRT study to ensure that it was diverse in age and gender. Each jury member voted by giving a score between 1 and 6 to each song and the lowest-scoring song was eliminated from each-semifinal. ^{[1] [2]}

Semi-final 1 - Two Man Sound – 15 January 1977

Draw	Song	Points	Place
1	"Dancing Man"	842	2
2	"It's Wonderful"	761	3
3	"Bye Bye Love"	1,014	1

Semi-final 2 - Trinity – 22 January 1977

Draw	Song	Points	Place
1	"Go Get Your Mother"	876	2
2	"Let Your Love Shine On"	791	3
3	"Drop Drop Drop"	1,075	1

Semi-final 3 - Dream Express – 29 January 1977

Draw	Song	Points	Place
1	"A Million in One, Two, Three"	978	2
2	"Sold It for a Song"	1,006	1
3	"Spinning Top"	745	3

Final

The final was broadcast live on 5 February 1977 in the Amerikaans Theater  [ nl ] in Brussels and was hosted by Luc Appermont. Voting was done by the same 192-member audience jury from the semi-finals and in the same method. In the first round, each group performed their two songs and the highest scoring song qualified to the next round. The points from the first round weren't revealed until after the show in order to not bias the jury. In the second round, each group performed their song and the highest scoring song won. ^{[1] [3]}

The winner of Eurosong 1977 was "A Million in One, Two, Three" by Dream Express. After the announcement of the results, Dream Express fans stormed the stage and Luc Appermont struggled to close the show. ^{[1] [4]}

First Round – 5 February 1977

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Result
1	Two Man Sound	"Dancing Man"	808	Advanced
2	Two Man Sound	"Bye Bye Love"	740	Eliminated
3	Dream Express	"A Million in One, Two, Three"	947	Advanced
4	Dream Express	"Sold It for a Song"	922	Eliminated
5	Trinity	"Go Get Your Mother"	860	Eliminated
6	Trinity	"Drop Drop Drop"	933	Advanced

Second Round – 5 February 1977

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Two Man Sound	"Dancing Man"	812	3
2	Dream Express	"A Million in One, Two, Three"	984	1
3	Trinity	"Drop Drop Drop"	932	2

At Eurovision

The free-language rule which had applied in Eurovision between 1973 and 1976 was abolished by the European Broadcasting Union before the 1977 contest and participants were now obliged once again to perform in an official language of their country. However, as Belgium (along with Germany) were already too far into their selection process, they were given dispensation to perform in English. ^[1]

On the night of the final Dream Express performed 17th in the running order, following Finland and preceding the eventual winner France. At the close of the voting "A Million in One, Two, Three" had received 69 votes from 11 countries (including the maximum 12 from The Netherlands and 10 from the United Kingdom), placing Belgium 7th of the 18 entries. ^{[5] [6]} Although this was Belgium's highest placing since 1969 it was seen as something of a disappointment, as prior to the contest the song had been widely tipped as a contender for victory. The Belgian jury awarded its 12 points to the United Kingdom.

Voting

Points awarded to Belgium [7] Score Country 12 points   Netherlands 10 points   United Kingdom 8 points   Germany 7 points   Portugal 6 points   Israel   Norway 5 points   Greece 4 points   Ireland   Luxembourg   Sweden 3 points   Finland 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Belgium [7] Score Country 12 points   United Kingdom 10 points   Netherlands 8 points    Switzerland 7 points   Spain 6 points   Greece 5 points   Norway 4 points   France 3 points   Ireland 2 points   Monaco 1 point   Israel

References

1. Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. Leuven: Kritak. ISBN   978-94-014-7609-6. OCLC   1240241113.
2. ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1977 semi-finals
3. ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1977 final
4. badoerfan (3 May 2020). Eurosong 1977 - Belgian Eurovision national final FULL . Retrieved 22 July 2024– via YouTube.
5. "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
6. ESC History - Belgium 1977
7. "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.