Brussels, 20 August 2022
VRT’s commentator for the contest, Peter Van de Veire confirmed tonight that Belgium will revert back to a national selection for the 2023 contest, to be held somewhere in the United Kingdom.
In previous years VRT, who are the Dutch-speaking Flemish broadcaster, have resorted to internally selecting their entrant. Sennek (Laura Groeseneken) and Hooverphonic were the most recent internal selections. Tom Dice (2010) and Iris (2012) were the first artists to be internally selected by Flanders after a long-standing tradition of national selections. VRT briefly revived Eurosong in 2014 and 2016, leading to the selections of Axel Hirsoux and Laura Tesoro. Tesoro finished 10th place in Stockholm, one of the better results VRT achieved at the contest.
On the other hand, RTBF, the French-speaking broadcaster has traditionally been using internal selections to find their representative. The last Walloon national final took place in 2011, which was won by Witloof Bay.
Last year’s representative, Jérémie Makiese, was picked via an internal selection as well. He finished in 19th place, with the song “Miss you’.
Van de Veire stated that “Eurovision is considered an ‘old-fashioned’ affair by critics”, so VRT decided to open a competition for a young talents to show themselves of.
When Eurosong 2023 will take place is not yet known. The selection is believed to be open, with any interesting parties being allowed to apply.
More information to follow at a later date.
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