Belgium was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1976 The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 was the 21st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ding-a-dong" by Teach-In (band), Teach-In. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song "", composed by

Pierre Rapsat Pierre Rapsat (born Pierre Raepsaet, 28 May 1948 – 20 April 2002) was a Belgian singer-songwriter who had a very successful career in his homeland and also spells of popularity in other Francophone countries. Outside these areas, he is best know ...

, with lyrics by Eric van Hulse, and performed by Rapsat himself. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Walloon (RTB), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

Walloon broadcaster (RTB) had the turn to participate in the

representing Belgium. Five artists were invited to the competition who then submitted one song each. As well as the eventual participants,

Two Man Sound Two Man Sound was a Belgian pop trio of the 1970s. Their style combined the disco music typical of the era with samba and bossa nova. Their signature hits were 1975 "Charlie Brown" and a Latin track called " Disco Samba", released in 1977. "Charl ...

and

Johan Verminnen Johan Maurits Verminnen (born 22 May 1951 in Wemmel, Belgium) is a Belgian singer. Discography *2019 ''En Daarna ga ik Vissen'' (Album) *2016 ''Tussen een Glimlach en een Traan'' (Album) *2014 ''Stemmen'' (Album) *2009 ''Solozeiler'' (Album) *2 ...

were also invited but declined. Johan Verminnen stated that he was asked too late and was unable to find a suitable song in the short time. The national final only lasted a total of 20 minutes. Pre-recorded performances of the five songs were aired on 21 January 1976 at 20:25

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

until 20:40 CET in a show hosted by

Jacques Mercier Jacques Mercier (born 17 October 1943 in Mouscron) is a Belgian writer and television and radio presenter. The third eldest son of René and Denise Mercier, Jacques Mercier was educated at St. Joseph's College. Mercier joined RTBF in September ...

. RTB then aired a programme about skating, and at 21:55 CET a five minute programme was aired where Henri Billen, the artistic director for RTB, announced the winning song. Only the winner was announced, which was chosen by a jury consisting of prominent members of RTB as well as journalists and specialists who represented the public. This was controversial as some newspapers claimed that the jury was effectively a professional jury and did not represent the public. Known members of the jury are composers Frank Engelen and Willy Albimoor.

At Eurovision

On the evening of the final Rapsat performed 6th in the running order, following and preceding . At the close of the voting "" had received 68 points from 11 countries, placing Belgium 8th of the 18 competing entries. The Belgian jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the .

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1976

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...