Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972

Belgium was represented by Serge and Christine Ghisoland, with the song "À la folie ou pas du tout", at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Edinburgh on 25 March. "À la folie ou pas du tout" was the winner of the Belgian national final for the contest, held at the RTB studios in Brussels on 15 February. The Ghisolands had previously participated in the Belgian final in 1970.

Eurovision Song Contest 1972
Country Belgium
National selection
Selection processArtist: Internal selection
Song: Chansons pour l'Eurovision 72
Selection date(s)Artist: October 1971
Song: 15 February 1972
Selected entrantSerge and Christine Ghisoland
Selected song"À la folie ou pas du tout"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Daniel Nélis
  • Bob Milan
Finals performance
Final result17th, 55 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1971 • 1972 • 1973►

Before Eurovision

Artist selection

In October 1971, RTB announced that they had internally selected Serge and Christine Ghisoland to represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1972.[1]

Chansons pour l'Eurovision 72

Chansons pour l'Eurovision 72 was the national final format developed by RTB in order to select Belgium's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1972. The competition was held on 15 February 1972 and was broadcast on RTB.[2][1]

Competing entries

Following the announcement of the Ghisolands as Belgian representatives, a song submission period was opened where composers were able to submit their songs until 31 December 1971. RTB received 180 submissions and, in collaboration with SABAM, selected four songs from the received songs to participate in the contest.[1]

Several online sources incorrectly state that the national final had 10 songs. This can easily be disproved by newspapers from the time saying the national final had 4 songs,[3] and also that the songs "Marilyn" and "La rose", which are included in that list of 10 songs, were released as a single in 1970, making them ineligible for the Eurovision Song Contest 1972.[4]

Song Songwriter(s)
"À la folie ou pas du tout" Daniël Nélis, Bob Milan, Emile Soulan
"Femme" Pierre Coran, Serge Ghisoland
"Tant que mon coeur" Jean Demison, Willy Baetslé
"Vivre sans toi" Jean Miret, Jack Say

Final

The final was broadcast in two parts. The songs were previewed on 28 January 1972, and the public could start sending in postcards. The songs were then shown again on 15 February 1972 and the public could also start televoting. The winner was decided by a combination of the postcard votes and televotes. The final was hosted by Michel Lemaire.[2][1]

Final – 15 February 1972
Draw Song Place
1 "À la folie ou pas du tout" 1
2 "Tant que mon coeur" 3/4
3 "Vivre sans toi" 3/4
4 "Femme" 2

At Eurovision

On the night of the final the Ghisolands performed 16th in the running order, following Monaco and preceding eventual winner Luxembourg. The song seemed rather quaint and old-fashioned in comparison to many of the year's other entries, and at the close of the voting "À la folie ou pas du tout" had received 55 points, placing Belgium 17th of the 18 entries, ahead only of Malta.[5][6]

Voting

References
  1. "Eurovision de la Chanson 1972".
  2. Vermeulen, André (2021). Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. Leuven: Kritak. ISBN 978-94-014-7609-6. OCLC 1240241113.
  3. "Télévision belge". Luxemburger Wort (in German and French). Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. p. 27. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. Serge Et Christine Ghisoland - La Rose / Marilyn, retrieved 25 April 2023
  5. "Final of Edinburgh 1972". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  6. ESC History - Belgium 1972
  7. "Results of the Final of Edinburgh 1972". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
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