Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

Belgium was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with the song "Sister", written by Dirk Paelinck and Marc Paelinck, and performed by the group Sergio & the Ladies. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT), selected its entry for the contest through the national final Eurosong 2002. Belgium returned to the contest after a one-year absence following their relegation from 2001 as one of the bottom six entrants in 2000. The national final featured twenty-eight competing entries and consisted of five shows. In the final on 17 February 2002, "Sister" performed by Sergio @ the Ladies was selected as the winner via the votes of five voting groups. The group was renamed as Sergio & the Ladies for Eurovision.

Belgium competed in the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 25 May 2002. Performing during the show in position 16, Belgium placed thirteenth out of the 24 participating countries, scoring 33 points.

Prior to the 2002 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-three times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in 1956. Since then, they have won the contest on one occasion in 1986 with the song "J'aime la vie", performed by Sandra Kim. In 2000, "Envie de vivre" performed by Nathalie Sorce placed twenty-fourth (last).^[1]

The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: Flemish Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT) and Walloon Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française (RTBF) at the time, with both broadcasters sharing the broadcasting rights. Both broadcasters –and their predecessors– had selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. VRT had the turn to participate in 2002. In 1999 and 2000, both VRT and RTBF organised a national final in order to select its entries. On 6 June 2001, VRT confirmed its participation in the 2002 contest and announced that the Eurosong national final would be held to select its entry.^[2]

Eurosong 2002 was the national final organised by VRT to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002. The competition consisted of five shows that commenced on 20 January 2002 and concluded with a final on 17 February 2002 where the winning song and artist were selected. All shows took place at the Studio 100 in Schelle, hosted by Bart Peeters and broadcast on TV1.^[3][4]

Twenty-eight entries were selected to compete in Eurosong. Four semi-finals took place on 20 January 2002, 27 January 2002, 3 February 2002 and 10 February 2002 with each show featuring seven entries. The winner of each semi-final qualified to the final, and the three highest scoring second placed acts in the semi-finals were also selected to advance. The final took place on 17 February 2002 where the winner was chosen. The results of all shows were determined by an expert jury, an international jury consisting of 40 members from the participating countries at the Eurovision Song Contest, voting on Radio 2 and Radio Donna and public televoting. Each voting group had an equal stake in the result during all shows with the exception of the public televote which had a weighting equal to the votes of two groups. For the radio voting, listeners of the two stations was able to vote in advance prior to each of the five shows via televoting between Tuesday and Friday and their votes were combined with a jury consisting of representatives of the respective stations.^[5] Each show was broadcast in two parts: in the first part, the songs were performed and the results of the expert jury were announced; after the first part an episode of Stille Waters was aired while the rest of the results were being collected; and in the second part, the results of the international jury and three public voting groups were announced.^[6]

During each of the five shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists as well as selected entries to advance in the competition. The experts were:^[7]

• Andrea Croonenberghs – actress and singer
• Annemie Ramaekers – journalist at Het Laatste Nieuws
• Bart Alleman – Head of Entertainment at Dag Allemaal
• Ilse Ceulemans – journalist at Story
• Marcel Vanthilt – singer and television presenter
• Rocco Granata – singer-songwriter
• Koen Lauwereyns – editor at Het Volk and Het Nieuwsblad

A submission period was opened on 6 June 2001 for artists and songwriters to submit their entries until 31 October 2001.^[2] The twenty-eight acts selected for the competition from 351 entries received during the submission period were announced on 3 December 2001.^[8][9]

The four semi-finals took place on 20 January, 27 January, 3 February and 10 February 2002. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from two jury groups, two radio voting groups and a public televote determined the winner that qualified to the final. The three highest scoring second placed acts in the semi-finals also proceeded to the final.

The final took place on 17 February 2002 where the seven entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed. The winner, "Sister" performed by Sergio @ the Ladies, was selected by the combination of results from two jury groups, two radio voting groups and a public televote. "Sister" received 220,436 of the record 330,140 televotes registered during the show.^[10]

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the bottom six countries in the 2001 contest competed in the final. On 9 November 2001, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Belgium was set to perform in position 16, following the entry from Bosnia and Herzegovina and before the entry from France.^[13] The group performed at the contest under the new name Sergio & the Ladies, and Belgium finished in thirteenth place with 33 points.^[14][15]

The contest was broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the show on TV1 with commentary in Dutch by André Vermeulen and Bart Peeters.^[16] RTBF televised the shows on La Une with commentary in French by Jean-Pierre Hautier.^[17] The show was also broadcast via radio, with VRT covering the event on Radio 2 with commentary in Dutch by Julien Put and Michel Follet and on Radio Donna with commentary in Dutch by Jan Bosman,^[16] and RTBF covering the event on La Première with commentary in French by Laurent Daube and Éric Russon.

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points in the contest to Spain.^[18] VRT appointed Geena Lisa Peeters as its spokesperson to announce the Belgian votes during the show.^[16]