Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

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Eurovision Song Contest 1977
CountryFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
National selection
Selection processEurosong
Selection date(s)Semi-finals
15 January 1977
22 January 1977
29 January 1977
Final
5 February 1977
Selected entrant Dream Express
Selected song"A Million in One, Two, Three"
Selected songwriter(s)Luc Smets
Finals performance
Final result7th, 69 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄197619771978►

Belgium was represented by Dream Express, with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in London on 7 May.

Contents

Before Eurovision

Eurosong

The selection consisted of three semi-finals, followed by the final on 5 February. All the shows were hosted by Luc Appermont and took place at the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels.

Semi-finals

Three semi-finals were held in which the three selected groups performed three songs each, with the songs being marked by audience members and the lowest-scoring being eliminated while the remaining two went forward to the final. [1]

Final

The final was held on 5 February 1977. Voting was by 192 audience members awarding each song a score between 1 and 6 points. All six songs were performed and voted on then, rather oddly, the higher-scoring song from each act was performed and voted on again by the same 192 people. The contemporary, disco-influenced "A Million in One, Two, Three" emerged the winner, being the only song of the three to receive a significantly different score in the second round of voting, and beating the similarly styled "Drop Drop Drop" into second place. [2]

First Round – 5 February 1977
DrawArtistSongPointsResult
1 Two Man Sound "Dancing Man"808Advanced
2 Two Man Sound "Bye Bye Love"740Eliminated
3 Dream Express "A Million in One, Two, Three"947Advanced
4 Dream Express "Sold It for a Song"922Eliminated
5Trinity"Go Get Your Mother"860Eliminated
6Trinity"Drop Drop Drop"933Advanced
Second Round – 5 February 1977
DrawArtistSongPointsPlace
1 Two Man Sound "Dancing Man"8123
2 Dream Express "A Million in One, Two, Three"9841
3Trinity"Drop Drop Drop"9322

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) had already chosen an English-language song and did not have a native-language version available, they were given dispensation to perform in English.

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. [3] [4] 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

Related Research Articles

Eurovision Song Contest 1977

The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the 1976 contest with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the contest was held at the Wembley Conference Centre on Saturday 7 May 1977, marking the first time the event took place in the month of May since the first contest in 1956. The live show was hosted by English journalist Angela Rippon.

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Belgium was represented by Dutch singer Stella Maessen, with the song "Si tu aimes ma musique", at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Harrogate, England on 24 April.

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France was represented by Marie Myriam, with the song "L'oiseau et l'enfant", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 May in London. "L'oiseau et l'enfant" went on to bring France a fifth Eurovision victory, a record at the time.

Ireland was represented by The Swarbriggs Plus Two, with the song "It's Nice to Be in Love Again", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 May in London. "It's Nice to Be in Love Again" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 20 February.

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Hungary participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Hungarian entry was selected through a national selection format titled again "A Dal", consisting of three heats, two semi-finals and a final, organised by the Hungarian broadcaster MTVA. ByeAlex represented Hungary with the song "Kedvesem", which qualified from the second semi-final of the competition and finished in 10th place in the final, scoring 84 points.

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Austria participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Loin d'ici" written by Zoë Straub and Christof Straub. The song was performed by Zoë. The Austrian broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) organised the national final Wer singt für Österreich? in order to select the Austrian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten songs competed in a televised show where a jury panel and a public vote first selected the top two entries to proceed to a second round of voting. In the second round, a public vote exclusively selected "Loin d'ici" performed by Zoë as the winner. This was the first time that the Austrian song was performed entirely in the French language at the Eurovision Song Contest. The Austrian song was also the only entry performed in the final entirely in a language other than English.

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References

  1. ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1977 semi-finals
  2. ESC National Finals database - Belgium 1977 final
  3. "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  4. ESC History - Belgium 1977
  5. 1 2 "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.