Since last August, when the first details of this year’s Eurosong were announced, there have been weeks of announcements and twists and turns in the mechanics of this year’s Eurosong. Today we can say that there is already a winner, and with that, Belgium’s representative in Liverpool 2023.
Gustaph was proclaimed winner of Eurosong 2023 at the Palais 12 in Brussels just ahead of The Starlings who were only 1 point behind the winner. The jury, which consisted of Laura Tesoro (Eurovision 2016), Jérémie Makiese (Eurovision 2022), Alexander Rybak (Eurovision 2009 winner) and 12 other members, gave the highest score to gala dragot, while the televote (the other 50% of the score) wanted The Starlings to be the winner. However, Gustaph was the winner of the gala and will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2023 with the song “Because of You”.
Full results
ESCplus International interviews Gustaph
Earlier this week ESCplus International reporter, Denis, had the chance to interview the Belgian Eurosong 2023 winner Gustaph; they talked about Eurovision goals, (LGBTQIA+) representation during the Eurovision Song Contest, plans for the future, and much more…
Eurosong: Belgium’s historic pre-selection
Eurosong is the most frequently used national final in the history of Belgium’s participation in Eurovision with 43 editions to date. Its first edition took place in 1958 when Fud Leclerc with the song “Ma petite chatte” became the winner.
From 1965 until 1984 it was used as a method of selecting the Belgian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest on a regular and continuous basis every year. At that stage both the French-speaking RTBF and the Dutch-speaking VRT used the contest as a selection method. Since then, it has usually been the national final used by the Flemish VRT when it has been held, while the RTBF used to organise either internal elections or pre-selections with French names.
Although it has been 7 years since the last Eurosong was held in Belgium, Laura Tesoro was proclaimed champion of that edition in 2016 with her song “What’s the Pressure?”. The winner was chosen in two rounds, the first by a 50/50 international jury and the second by the Belgian televote. Laura swept the televote in the second round and in the end it was she who flew the Belgian flag in Stockholm, where she made it to the final and scored 181 points, reaching 10th place in the European competition.
Belgium at Eurovision
Belgium was one of the founding countries of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Since then it has accumulated 63 participations, only missing the contest in 1994, 1997 and 2001. As a nation with two public broadcasters for the country’s two main language communities, RTBF (in French) and VRT (in Flemish), the responsibility for choosing the Belgian representative alternates between the two broadcasters each year.
It has only won once, when Sandra Kim took the stage in Bergen 1986 with the song “Jaime La Vie”. In addition to her victory, she has won two silver medals, four fourth places, two fifth places and has placed 14 times in the top 10 of the contest.
Belgium was represented at Eurovision 2022 by singer Jérémie Makiese and the ballad “Miss You“. The singer earned the country a place in the final for the second year in a row, finishing in 19th place with a total of 64 points.
will Belgium make it to the final again and win first place at the Eurovision Song Contest?