Background
Prior to the 2006 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-seven times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in . Since then, they have won the contest on one occasion with the song "", performed by Sandra Kim. Following the introduction of semi-finals for , Belgium had been featured in only one final. In , "" performed by Nuno Resende placed twenty-second in the semi-final and failing to advance to the final. The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: Flemish (VRT) and Walloon (RTBF) at the time, with both broadcasters sharing the broadcasting rights. Both broadcasters –and their predecessors– had selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. VRT and RTBF in 2005 both organised a national final in order to select their entries. On 19 June 2005, VRT –who had the turn– confirmed its participation in the 2006 contest and announced that the ''Eurosong '06'' national final would be held to select its entry.Before Eurovision
''Eurosong '06''
''Eurosong '06'' was the national final organised by VRT to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition consisted of seven shows that commenced on 8 January 2006 and concluded with a final on 19 February 2006 where the winning song and artist were selected. All shows took place at the Studio 100 in Schelle, hosted by Bart Peeters and were broadcast on Eén.Format
Twenty-eight entries were selected to compete in ''Eurosong''. Four heats took place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 January 2006 with each show featuring seven entries. The top three as determined by an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups from the stations Radio 2 and Radio Donna and public televoting qualified to the semi-finals. The expert jury also selected two wildcards out of the non-qualifying acts in the heats to advance. The qualifying artists were then coached and groomed by a team of experts in further preparation for the national final. This team consisted of stylists Lien Degol and Jani Kazaltzis, choreographer Marvin Smith and advertiser Peter Ampe. Two semi-finals took place on 5 and 12 February 2006 with each show featuring seven entries. The top three as determined by the four jury groups and public televoting qualified to the final, while the expert jury also selected a wildcard out of the non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals to advance. The final took place on 19 February 2006 where the winner was chosen by an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups from the stations Radio 2 and Radio Donna, three international jury groups and public televoting. Each jury group had an equal stake in the result during all shows, while the public televote had a weighting equal to the votes of two jury groups in the heats and the semi-finals and three jury groups in the final. Each show was broadcast in two parts: in the first part, the songs were performed and the results of the expert jury were announced; after the first part an episode of '' Flikken'' and then an episode of '' Witse'' was aired while the rest of the results were being collected; and in the second part, the results of the public televoting and three other jury groups were announced. During each of the seven shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists as well as selected entries to advance in the competition. The experts were: * Yasminesinger and television presenter * Marcel Vanthiltsinger and television presenter * André VermeulenBelgian commentator at the Eurovision Song Contest * Johnny LoganIrish singer-songwriter, who won Eurovision for andCompeting entries
A submission period was opened on 19 June 2005 for artists and songwriters to submit their entries until 28 September 2005. The twenty-eight acts selected by VRT for the competition from 321 entries received during the submission period were announced on 6 December 2005. Among the competing artists were former Eurovision Song Contest participants Barbara Dex, who represented , and Vanessa Chinitor, who represented .Shows
Heats
The four heats took place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 January 2006. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups and a public televote determined the top three that qualified to the semi-finals. An additional two entries were awarded wildcards by the expert jury from the remaining non-qualifying acts in the heats to proceed to the semi-finals.Semi-finals
The two semi-finals took place on 5 and 12 February 2006. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups and a public televote determined the top three that qualified to the final. "P.O.W.E.R." performed by Brahim was awarded a wildcard by the expert jury from the non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals to proceed to the final.Final
The final took place on 19 February 2006 where the seven entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals competed. The winner, " Je t'adore" performed byRatings
Promotion
Kate Ryan made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Je t'adore" as the Belgian Eurovision entry. Ryan took part in promotional activities in Macedonia on 7 April and performed during the HRT 1 programme ''Studio 10'' in Croatia on 8 April. On 9 April, Ryan appeared in and performed during the TV SLO1 programme ''Spet doma'' in Slovenia. Ryan also took part in promotional activities in Greece on 13 and 14 April which included performances during the ANT1 show '' Proinos Kafes'', and in Malta between 15 and 17 April where she appeared during the special Eurovision shows ''Lejn il-Eurovision'' on NET TV and ''Eurovision Fever'' on Super One TV. On 22 April, Ryan performed in Turkey during the Star TV show '' Popstar Türkiye''. On 4 May, Ryan completed promotional activities in the Netherlands where she appeared during the talk shows '' RTL Boulevard'' on RTL 4 and ''Jensen!'' on RTL 5. The promotional tour also featured television and radio appearances in Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland, and was financially supported by Flemish Minister of Culture Bert Anciaux and Kate Ryan's record company EMI with each of them allocating a subsidy of €60,000.At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the are required to qualify from the semi-final on 18 May 2006 in order to compete for the final on 20 May 2006; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. On 21 March 2006, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Belgium was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from and before the entry from . At the end of the semi-final, Belgium was not announced among the top 10 entries and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 69 points. The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the shows on één with commentary in Dutch by Bart Peeters and André Vermeulen. RTBF televised the shows onVoting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the semi-final and the final of the contest.Points awarded to Belgium
Points awarded by Belgium
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2006