Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013


Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Belgian entry was selected through a combination of an internal selection to select the artist and a national final to select the song, organised by the Belgian broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge Francophone. Roberto Bellarosa represented Belgium with the song "Love Kills", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and finished in 12th place in the final, scoring 71 points. This was Belgiums's second best placing since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004.

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

On 16 November 2012, RTBF announced that Roberto Bellarosa was internally selected to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. On 20 November, RTBF held a press conference in order to present their internal selection and to announce that a three-song radio selection would take place on 16 December 2012 in order to select the song.

Eurovision 2013: A vous de choisir la chanson!

Record label Sony Music presented six candidate songs to RTBF, and a jury selected three to go through the national final. The song titles were revealed on 11 December 2012.
On 16 December 2012, Roberto Bellarosa performed three songs during a live radio show that aired on VivaCité and was webcast on the official website of RTBF. The combination of public and professional jury votes resulted in the selection of "Love Kills", with music and lyrics by Jukka Immonen and Iain Farquharson, as the winning song. "Love Kills" also won the public vote, receiving 56.12%.

At Eurovision

Belgium was allocated to compete in the first semi-final on 14 May for a place in the final on 18 May. In the first semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Belgium would perform 15th, following Cyprus and preceding Serbia. On stage, Bellarosa was joined by two female backup dancers: Cassandra Markopoulos and Manelle Jebira, and three backing vocalists: Ivann Vermeer, Magali David and Virginie Luypaerts.
Belgium qualified from the first semi-final, placing 5th and scoring 75 points. At the first semi-final winners' press conference, Belgium was allocated to perform in the first half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Belgium would perform 6th, following Spain and preceding Estonia. Belgium placed 12th in the final, scoring 71 points.

Points awarded to Belgium

12 points10 points8 points7 points6 points

    • 5 points4 points3 points2 points1 point

    • Points awarded by Belgium

    Semi-final 1

    Points awarded in the first semi-final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point

    Final

    Points awarded in the final:
    12 points
    10 points
    8 points
    7 points
    6 points
    5 points
    4 points
    3 points
    2 points
    1 point