View source for Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox song contest national year
| Year = 1973
| Broadcaster = {{lang|nl|[[VRT (broadcaster)|Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep]]|i=no}} (BRT)
| Country = Belgium
| Preselection = {{lang|nl|Liedje Voor Luxemburg}}
| Preselection date = 25 February 1973
| Entrant = [[Nicole and Hugo]]
| Song = Baby, Baby
| Writer = {{unbulleted list|Ignace Baert|Erik Marijsse}}
| Final result = 17th, 58 points
}}
Belgium was represented at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1973]] with the song "Baby, Baby", composed by Ignace Baert, with lyrics by Erik Marijsse, and performed by [[Nicole and Hugo]]. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish {{lang|nl|[[VRT (broadcaster)|Belgische Radio- en Televisieomroep]]|i=no}} (BRT), selected its entry through a national final. Nicole and Hugo had won the {{esccnty|Belgium|y=1971|t=1971 national final}} with the song "{{lang|nl|Goeiemorgen, morgen|i=no}}", but days before the contest Nicole had fallen ill and was unable to travel to host city [[Dublin]], so [[Jacques Raymond]] and [[Lily Castel]] had been drafted in as last-minute replacements.
==Before Eurovision==
=== {{lang|nl|Liedje Voor Luxemburg}} ===
The final took place on 25 February 1973, held in the Amerikaans Theater in Brussels and hosted by [[:nl:Jan Theys (presentator)|Jan Theys]], with five acts performing two songs apiece. The contest was pre-recorded on 24 February and broadcast on the 25th. The winner was chosen by seven expert jurors who each named their favourite song, and "Baby, Baby" was the choice of four of them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vermeulen |first=André |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1240241113 |title=Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. |date=2021 |publisher=Kritak |isbn=978-94-014-7609-6 |location=Leuven |oclc=1240241113}}</ref>
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:left"
|+ Final – 25 February 1973
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Draw
! Artist
! Song
!Songwriter(s)
! Points
! Place
|-
|1
| align="left" |[[Rita Deneve]]
| align="left" |"Ga met me mee"
|Jaak Horckmans, Rita Deneve, David Best
|0
|4=
|-
| 2
| align="left" |[[Nicole and Hugo]]
| align="left" |"Jij en ik en wij"
|Phil Van Cauwenbergh, Paul Quintens
| 0
|4=
|-
|3
| align="left" |[[Ann Christy (singer)|Ann Christy]]
| align="left" |"Bye Bye"
|Mary Boduin, B. Richardson
|1
|3
|-
|4
| align="left" |[[:nl:Kalinka (zangeres)|Kalinka]]
| align="left" |"Nooit ga ik van je heen"
|Willy Van Cauwenberghe, Luk Bral
|0
|4=
|-
|5
| align="left" |{{ill|Liliane Dorekens|nl}}
| align="left" |"Morgen"
|Al Van Dam
|0
|4=
|-
|6
| align="left" |Rita Deneve
| align="left" |"Vrede voor iedereen"
|Jaak Horckmans, Rita Deneve, David Best
|2
|2
|- style="font-weight:bold; background:gold;"
|7
| align="left" |'''Nicole and Hugo'''
| align="left" |"'''Baby, Baby'''"
|Erik Marijsse, Ignace Baert
|4
|1
|-
|8
| align="left" |Ann Christy
| align="left" |"Meeuwen"
|Mary Boduin, Adam Hoptman
|0
|4=
|-
|9
| align="left" |Kalinka
| align="left" |"Home Sweet Home"
|Paul de Coignies, Greta Bogaert, Marc Mory
|0
|4=
|-
|10
| align="left" |Liliane Dorekens
| align="left" |"Kus, kiss, kuss"
|Al Van Dam
|0
|4=
|}
==At Eurovision==
On the night of the final Nicole and Hugo performed second in the running order, following {{esccnty|Finland|y=1973}} and preceding {{esccnty|Portugal|y=1973}}. Among their backing singers was [[Claude Lombard]], who represented {{esccnty|Belgium|y=1968|t=Belgium in 1968}}. At the close of the voting "Baby, Baby" had received 58 points, placing Belgium last of the 17 entries, the fourth time the country had finished at the foot of the Eurovision scoreboard.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final of Luxembourg 1973 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/luxembourg-1973/final |publisher=Eurovision Song Contest |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409142300/https://eurovision.tv/event/luxembourg-1973/final |archive-date=9 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.esc-history.com/details.asp?key=304 ESC History - Belgium 1973]</ref>
Notwithstanding the bad result however, the couple's outrageously [[Camp (style)|camp]] styling and performance have ensured that "Baby, Baby" has over the years gained [[cult status]] amongst Eurovision fans. Several clips from the performance were shown during Eurovision's 50th anniversary TV gala ''[[Congratulations (Eurovision)|Congratulations]]'' in 2005, culminating in a live appearance by the pair, wearing their infamous purple 1973 outfits and performing an abridged version of the song. "Baby, Baby" remains an iconic Eurovision performance, far better remembered than hundreds of songs which finished much higher up the scoreboard.
=== Voting ===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Points awarded to Belgium<ref name="1973detailed">{{cite web |title=Results of the Final of Luxembourg 1973 |url=https://eurovision.tv/event/luxembourg-1973/final/results/belgium |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=9 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409143656/https://eurovision.tv/event/luxembourg-1973/final/results/belgium |archive-date=9 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! scope="col" width="20%" | Score
! scope="col" | Country
|-
! scope="row" | 10 points
|
|-
! scope="row" | 9 points
|
|-
! scope="row" | 8 points
|
|-
! scope="row" | 7 points
|
|-
! scope="row" | 6 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Monaco|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Spain|1945|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 5 points
| {{Esc|United Kingdom|y=1973}}
|-
! scope="row" | 4 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Finland|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Germany|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Ireland|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Luxembourg|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Switzerland|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Yugoslavia|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 3 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Netherlands|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Norway|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Portugal|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|France|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Israel|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Italy|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Sweden|y=1973}}}}
|}
{{col-2}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Points awarded by Belgium<ref name="1973detailed" />
|-
! scope="col" width="20%" | Score
! scope="col" | Country
|-
! scope="row" | 10 points
|
|-
! scope="row" | 9 points
| {{Esc|Finland|y=1973}}
|-
! scope="row" | 8 points
| {{Esc|Spain|1945|y=1973}}
|-
! scope="row" | 7 points
| {{Esc|Ireland|y=1973}}
|-
! scope="row" | 6 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Israel|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Luxembourg|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Portugal|y=1973}}|{{Esc|United Kingdom|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 5 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Germany|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Italy|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Norway|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 4 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|Netherlands|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Sweden|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 3 points
| {{Unbulleted list|{{Esc|France|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Monaco|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Switzerland|y=1973}}|{{Esc|Yugoslavia|y=1973}}}}
|-
! scope="row" | 2 points
|
|}
{{col-end}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFWle0HMlPU Belgian 1973 ESC preselection (audio only)]
{{Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1973}}
[[Category:Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest|1973]]
[[Category:Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973]]
[[Category:1973 in Belgian television|Eurovision]]