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Belgium in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox song contest country

| Name = Belgium

| Contest = JESC

| Broadcaster = {{ubl|{{lang|nl|Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie|i=unset}} (VRT)|{{lang|fr|Radio-télévision belge de la communauté française|i=unset}} (RTBF)}}

| Apps = 10

| First = {{Escyr|2003|Junior}}

| Last = {{Escyr|2012|Junior}}

| Best = 4th: {{Escyr|2009|Junior}}

| Host = {{Escyr|2005|Junior}}

| Current = 2012

}}

Belgium competed in every Junior Eurovision Song Contest before withdrawing in 2013. The country's best result was in {{Escyr|2009|Junior}}, when Laura Omloop came 4th with "Zo verliefd". Belgium's worst result was in {{Escyr|2007|Junior}}, with Trust coming 15th with "Anders".

History

Belgium are one of the sixteen countries to have made their debut at the inaugural {{Escyr|2003|Junior}} contest, which took place on 15 November 2003 at the Forum in Copenhagen, Denmark.{{cite web|last1=García|first1=Belén|title=#BestOfJESC – Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003|url=http://www.esc-plus.com/bestofjesc-junior-eurovision-song-contest-2003/|website=esc-plus.com|publisher=ESC+Plus|access-date=26 August 2016|date=7 September 2015}}

=National selection=

Two broadcasters were once responsible for the Belgium entry at Junior Eurovision - as for the Eurovision Song Contest, both Flemish broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep (VRT) and Walloon broadcaster Radio télévision belge de la communauté française (RTBF) were responsible for organising the Belgian entry for Junior Eurovision. The two broadcasters shared responsibility, with VRT organising one year, and RTBF organising the following year. In 2003 VRT organised the Belgian entry, sending X!NK to Copenhagen with "De vriendschapsband", while in {{Escyr|2004|Junior}}, RTBF organised the Belgian entry, sending the Free Spirits to the contest in Lillehammer with "Accroche-toi".

2005 marked a change to the format, with both broadcasters organising one national final due to the {{Escyr|2005|Junior}} contest being held in the Belgian city of Hasselt. Each broadcaster chose six songs to compete in one national final, with the final winner representing Belgium at the contest.{{cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/3377|title=Junior 2005: 6 Flemish and 6 French songs in Belgian finals|last=Philips|first=Roel|date=2004-11-22|publisher=ESCToday|access-date=2009-06-10}} The winner was Lindsay Daenen with "Mes rêves". 2006 returned to the previous format, with VRT organising the entry. Following this RTBF decided to withdraw from Junior Eurovision due to a lack of interest for the contest in Wallonia and in RTBF.{{cite web|url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/6460|title=VRT take over Belgian JESC|last=West-Soley|first=Richard|date=2006-10-03|publisher=ESCToday|access-date=2009-06-10}} This gave VRT total control of Belgium's Junior Eurovision entry.

Although VRT is a Dutch broadcaster, they have been known to include some French songs in their national finals, for example, in {{Escyr|2008|Junior}}. However, since 2006 all Belgian entries have been in Dutch. In 2010, Belgium sent a duo for the first time since their debut. Belgium was also the first country who confirmed to participate in Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011 and 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.ketnet.be/node/283042 |title=Schrijf je in voor Junior Eurosong 2011 | Ketnet |access-date=2010-11-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122035407/http://www.ketnet.be/node/283042 |archive-date=2010-11-22 }}

=Withdrawal=

On 26 March 2013, VRT announced that Belgium will withdraw from the contest in 2013 in order to launch a new show for young performs in Belgium.{{cite web|url=http://escxtra.com/2013/03/belgium-withdraw-from-junior-eurovision|title=Belgium: Belgium withdraw from Junior Eurovision|last=Clark|first=Liam|date=27 March 2013|work=escXtra|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329111115/http://escxtra.com/2013/03/belgium-withdraw-from-junior-eurovision/|archive-date=29 March 2013}} However, they held a national final called {{ill|Wie wordt Junior?|nl}}, which was won by then 14-year-old Pieter Vreys. On 20 December 2013, Belgium's Flemish TV channel Ketnet announced that they are no longer interested in Junior Eurovision and decided not to make a comeback. On 31 December 2023, VRT stated that it had not yet made a decision as to a return to the contest in 2024, but that it would consider the possibility in the following months.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-31 |title=Bélgica: VRT podría participar en Eurovisión Junior 2024 |trans-title=Belgium: VRT could participate in Junior Eurovision 2024 |url=https://eurofestivales.blogspot.com/2023/12/belgica-vrt-podria-participar-en.html |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Eurofestivales |language=es-ES}} However, Belgium eventually opted against participation in the 2024 contest.{{Cite web |last=Mancheño |first=José Miguel |date=2024-05-18 |title=La VRT belga descarta participar en Eurovisión Junior 2024 |trans-title=Belgian VRT rules out participation in Junior Eurovision 2024 |url=https://www.escplus.es/eurovision-junior/2024/la-vrt-belga-descarta-participar-en-eurovision-junior-2024/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=ESCplus España |language=es}}

Participation overview

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Artist

! scope="col" | Song

! scope="col" | Language

! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Place

! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Points

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2003|Junior}}

| X!NK

| "{{lang|nl|De vriendschapsband|i=unset}}"

| Dutch

| style="text-align:center;" | 6

| style="text-align:center;" | 83

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2004|Junior}}

| Free Spirits

| "{{lang|fr|Accroche-toi|i=unset}}"

| French

| style="text-align:center;" | 10

| style="text-align:center;" | 37

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2005|Junior}}

| Lindsay

| "{{lang|fr|Mes rêves|i=unset}}"

| French

| style="text-align:center;" | 10

| style="text-align:center;" | 63

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2006|Junior}}

| Thor!

| "{{lang|nl|Een tocht door het donker|i=unset}}"

| Dutch

| style="text-align:center;" | 7

| style="text-align:center;" | 71

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2007|Junior}}

| Trust

| "{{lang|nl|Anders|i=unset}}"

| Dutch

| style="text-align:center;" | 15

| style="text-align:center;" | 19

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2008|Junior}}

| Oliver

| "Shut Up"

| Dutch{{efn|Even though the song is in Dutch, the title is in English.}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 11

| style="text-align:center;" | 45

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2009|Junior}}

| Laura

| "{{lang|nl|Zo verliefd|i=unset}} (Yodelo)"

| Dutch

| style="text-align:center;" | 4

| style="text-align:center;" | 113

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2010|Junior}}

| Jill and Lauren

| "Get Up!"

| Dutch, English

| style="text-align:center;" | 7

| style="text-align:center;" | 61

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2011|Junior}}

| Femke

| "{{lang|nl|Een kusje meer|i=unset}}"

| Dutch{{efn|Contains one phrase in French}}

| style="text-align:center;" | 7

| style="text-align:center;" | 64

scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | {{Escyr|2012|Junior}}

| {{ill|Fabian Feyaerts|lt=Fabian|nl}}

| "{{ill|Abracadabra (Fabian song)|lt=Abracadabra|nl|Abracadabra (Fabian)}}"

| Dutch

| style="text-align:center;" | 5

| style="text-align:center;" | 72

Commentators and spokespersons

{{more citations needed section|date=November 2019}}

The contests are broadcast online worldwide through the official Junior Eurovision Song Contest website junioreurovision.tv and YouTube. In 2015, the online broadcasts featured commentary in English by junioreurovision.tv editor Luke Fisher and 2011 Bulgarian Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrant Ivan Ivanov.{{cite web|url=http://www.junioreurovision.tv/page/blog?id=tonight_junior_eurovision_song_contest_2015|title=Tonight: Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015!|last=Fisher|first=Luke James|work=Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Bulgaria 2015|date=21 November 2015|access-date=21 November 2015}} The Belgian broadcasters, VRT and RTBF, send their own commentator to each contest in order to provide commentary in Dutch and French. Spokespersons were also chosen by the national broadcaster in order to announce the awarding points from Belgium. The table below list the details of each commentator and spokesperson since 2003.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
Year

!Flemish commentator

!Walloon commentator

!Spokesperson

!class="unsortable"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2003|Junior}}

|{{ill|Ilse Van Hoecke|nl}} and Bart Peeters

|{{ill|Corinne Boulangier|fr}}

|Judith Bussé

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2004|Junior}}

|Ilse Van Hoecke and Marcel Vanthilt

|rowspan=2|{{ill|Jean-Louis Lahaye|fr}}

|Alexander Schönfelder

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2005|Junior}}

|Ilse Van Hoecke and André Vermeulen

|Max Colombie

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2006|Junior}}

|Ilse Van Hoecke and {{ill|Jelle Cleymans|nl}}

|rowspan="8" {{N/A|No broadcast}}

|Sander Cliquet

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2007|Junior}}

|rowspan=3|{{ill|Kristien Maes|nl}} and {{ill|Ben Roelants|nl}}

|Bab Buelens

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2008|Junior}}

|Chloé Ditlefsen

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2009|Junior}}

|Oliver Symons

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2010|Junior}}

|rowspan=2|Kristien Maes and Tom De Cock

|Laura Omloop

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2011|Junior}}

|Jill & Lauren

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2012|Junior}}

|{{ill|Astrid Demeure|nl}} and Tom De Cock

|Femke Verschueren

|

scope="row"|{{Escyr|2013|Junior}}–{{Escyr|2024|Junior}}

|{{N/A|No broadcast}}

|{{N/A|Did not participate}}

|

Hostings

class="wikitable"
Year

! Location

! Venue

! Presenters

2005

| Hasselt

| Ethias Arena

| Maureen Louys and Marcel Vanthilt

=Gallery=

File:L. Daenen, Junior Eurovision 2005.jpg|{{ill|Lindsay Daenen|fr|lt=Lindsay}} represented Belgium at the 2005 contest held in Hasselt

File:Fabian (Fabian Feyaerts) (Belgium, JESC 2012).jpg|Fabian represented Belgium at the 2012 contest held in Amsterdam

See also

Notes and references

=Notes=

{{notelist}}

=References=

{{Reflist}}

{{Junior Eurovision Song Contest}}

{{Belgium in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgium In The Junior Eurovision Song Contest}}

Category:Countries in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Category:Music of Belgium