Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1962 explained

Year:1962
Country:Belgium
Preselection:Finale Belge du Grand Prix Eurovision 1962 de la Chanson Européenne
Preselection Date:19 February 1962
Entrant:Fud Leclerc
Song:Ton nom
Final Result:13th, 0 points

Belgium was represented by Fud Leclerc, with the song '"Ton nom", at the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 18 March in Luxembourg City. The song was chosen in the Belgian national final on 19 February. This was Leclerc's fourth time at Eurovision, and he still shares the record (with Elisabeth Andreassen, Peter, Sue & Marc and Valentina Monetta) for the most Eurovision appearances as a main performer. "Ton nom" has also gone down in history as the first Eurovision performance ever to score the infamous nul-points.

Before Eurovision

Finale Belge du Grand Prix Eurovision 1962 de la Chanson Européenne

Finale Belge du Grand Prix Eurovision 1962 de la Chanson Européenne was the national final format developed by RTB in order to select Belgium's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1962. The competition was held on 1 February 1962 at the Cultural and Artistic Center in Uccle and aired on 19 February at 20:30 CET.[1] [2]

Final

The final was held on 1 February 1962 and later aired on 19 February 1962. The songs were first performed as instrumentals by the orchestra and then performed again with the singers. "Ton nom," performed by Fud Leclerc, was selected as the winning song by a 10-member jury, headed by Robert Ledent. Only the winner was announced.

19 February 1962
DrawArtistSongSongwriter(s)Place
1Any Godet"Hambourg, l'oubli"Robert Hancre, Any Godet, Nilton Neves-
2Eric Channe"Toi, la femme"Eric Channe-
3Robert-Charles Lanson"Toi, mon copain"Robert-Charles Lanson, Jack Say-
4Ferry Devos"N'oublie jamais"Jean Bermont, Jo Brick-
5Fud Leclerc"Ton nom"Tany Golan, Eric Channe1

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Leclerc performed second in the running order, following Finland and preceding Spain. Voting was by each national jury awarding 3, 2 and 1 point(s) to their top three songs, and at the close of the voting "Ton nom" had failed to register any points, placing Belgium joint last with three other zero points entries from Austria, the Netherlands and Spain. This was the second consecutive year in which Belgium finished the evening at the foot of the scoreboard. The Belgian jury awarded its 3 points to Luxembourg.[3]

1962 was the first contest in which any entry had failed to score, and although four countries shared the ignominy, Leclerc is usually awarded the dubious accolade of being the first ever Eurovision nul-pointer, due to "Ton nom" having been performed earliest of the four in the running order.

Voting

Belgium did not receive any points at the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Vermeulen, André . Van Canzonissima tot Eurosong. 65 jaar Belgische preselecties voor het Eurovisiesongfestival. . 2021 . Kritak . 978-94-014-7609-6 . Leuven . 1240241113.
  2. Web site: Finale belge du Grand Prix Eurovision 1962.
  3. http://www.esc-history.com/details.asp?key=80 ESC History - Belgium 1962
  4. Web site: Results of the Final of Luxembourg 1962 . Eurovision Song Contest . 30 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330113402/https://eurovision.tv/event/luxembourg-1962/final/results/belgium . 30 March 2021 . live.