RTBF, the Belgian French-language national broadcaster, has confirmed their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
RTBF confirmed to ESCToday that Belgium will be present at Eurovision 2022. It has not been confirmed how the Belgian entrant for the 2022 contest will be selected, though it expected to be through an internal selection. Details of the selection process will be revealed at a later date. Jérémie Makiese, winner of The Voice Belgique 2021, has previously stated his desire to represent Belgium at Eurovision 2022.
Hooverphonic represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song “The Wrong Place”. They qualified for the final, bringing Belgium to the final for the first time since 2017, and finished 19th with 74 points.
About Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic were formed in 1995 and is formed of Alex Callier, Raymond Geerts and Geike Arnaert. Last year for Eurovision 2020 the lead singer of the band was Luka the former lead singer of the group from 2018 but was replaced at the end of 2020 by former lead singer Geike Arnaert. They have released ten studio albums during their career, and had a European hit in 2000 with “Mad About You”.
VRT opted to internally select Hooverphonic in 2020. Hooverphonic were first due to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2020 with the song “Release Me” but following the cancellation of Eurovision 2020, it was decided by VRT to reselect the group for Eurovision 2021.
Image Source: EBU/Thomas Hanses / Source: ESCToday
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
Belgium was one of the original seven nations to participate in the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. To date, the country has won the contest only once in 1986. Sandra Kim won the contest with the song “J’aime la vie”, her victory was not without controversy when it emerged that Sandra was just 13 years old, two years younger than the age restriction at the time. In the late 00s, Belgium struggled in the contest failing to reach the final annually from 2005 until 2010, when Tom Dice finished 6th in the final with 143 points. Belgium has finished last at the contest six times, including two sets of nul points.
Lindsay Daenen or Jérémie Makiese, please.