Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1983

Eurovision Song Contest 1983
Country	Belgium
National selection
Selection process	Eurosong
Selection date(s)	19 & 26 February 1983 5 & 19 March 1983
Selected entrant	Pas de Deux
Selected song	"Rendez-vous"
Finals performance
Final result	18th, 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 selection consisted of three semi-finals, followed by the final on 19 March. All the shows were hosted by Luc Appermont and took place at the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels. 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.

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

Semi-final 2

Semi-final 3

Final

The national final was held on 19 March 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.

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] Despite its poor performance in the contest, "Rendez-vous" has remained popular with many Eurovision fans; it frequently features prominently in fan polls of the best Belgian entries and is cited as a song that was way ahead of its time in Eurovision terms.

Points Awarded by Belgium

12 points	Yugoslavia
10 points	Israel
8 points	Luxembourg
7 points	Norway
6 points	Germany
5 points	Sweden
4 points	Cyprus
3 points	Austria
2 points	Netherlands
1 point	Switzerland

See also

• Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 1983

External links

• Belgian Preselection 1983

References

Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Artists 1950s Fud Leclerc Mony Marc Bobbejaan Schoepen Fud Leclerc Bob Benny 1960s Fud Leclerc Bob Benny Fud Leclerc Jacques Raymond Robert Cogoi Lize Marke Tonia Louis Neefs Claude Lombard Louis Neefs 1970s Jean Vallée Lily Castel & Jacques Raymond Serge & Christine Ghisoland Nicole & Hugo Jacques Hustin Ann Christy Pierre Rapsat Dream Express Jean Vallée Micha Marah 1980s Telex Emly Starr Stella Pas de Deux Jacques Zegers Linda Lepomme Sandra Kim Liliane Saint-Pierre Reynaert Ingeborg 1990s Philippe Lafontaine Clouseau Morgane Barbara Dex 1994 Frédéric Etherlinck Lisa del Bo 1997 Mélanie Cohl Vanessa Chinitor 2000s Nathalie Sorce 2001 Sergio & The Ladies Urban Trad Xandee Nuno Resende Kate Ryan The KMG's Ishtar Patrick Ouchène 2010s Tom Dice Witloof Bay Iris Roberto Bellarosa Axel Hirsoux Loïc Nottet Laura Tesoro Blanche
Songs 1950s "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" "Le plus beau jour de ma vie" "Straatdeuntje" "Ma petite chatte" "Hou toch van mij" 1960s "Mon amour pour toi" "September, gouden roos" "Ton nom" "Waarom?" "Près de ma rivière" "Als het weer lente is" "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel" "Ik heb zorgen" "Quand tu reviendras" "Jennifer Jennings" 1970s "Viens l'oublier" "Goeiemorgen, morgen" "À la folie ou pas du tout" "Baby, Baby" "Fleur de liberté" "Gelukkig zijn" "Judy et Cie" "A Million in One, Two, Three" "L'amour ça fait chanter la vie" "Hey Nana" 1980s "Euro-Vision" "Samson" "Si tu aimes ma musique" "Rendez-vous" "Avanti la vie" "Laat me nu gaan" "J'aime la vie" "Soldiers of Love" "Laissez briller le soleil" "Door de wind" 1990s "Macédomienne" "Geef het op" "Nous, on veut des violons" "Iemand als jij" 1994 "La voix est libre" "Liefde is een kaartspel" 1997 "Dis oui" "Like The Wind" 2000s "Envie de vivre" 2001 "Sister" "Sanomi" "1 Life" "Le grand soir" "Je t'adore" "Love Power" "O Julissi" "Copycat" 2010s "Me and My Guitar" "With Love Baby" "Would You?" "Love Kills" "Mother" "Rhythm Inside" "What's the Pressure"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Belgium did not compete)